Amal said:
>>I don’t think that’s necessarily the case. Obviously >>certain high-profile cases have tarnished the >>community, but we can’t dismiss the part of world >>perceptions, a negative image that we all have to >>pay for.

The problem is with muslims, not Lebanese in general.

Non-muslim Lebanese who came here in the 1970s have fitted in very well to Australia and are now Aussies. It was easy because they have similar attitudes to Australians – they are generous, welcoming, laid-back, larrikin sense of humour, work hard/play hard, are grateful to be in a free and healthy country and don’t take offence easily. And drive V8s.

Muslims however seek to impose their beliefs on all others and consider themselves Muslim first and foremost. They are constantly being offended. And they have great tendencies to be violent. This is not the Australian way and that’s why Muslims will never be welcome in Australia.

That said, I expect that Muslims will outnumber Australians within the next 15 years and will therefore be making the rules. Along with the Chinese and Koreans.

They were very wary of going to ‘non-Muslim’ suburbs because they were fearful of abuse. I can understand it though if they have been abused before or know someone who has and that makes them fearful.

That’s fair enough, Fatima. They may have good reason to think that, and I completely appreciate that many women may have this mindset. However, I do confess that I’m not convinced these fears are necessarily justified. Some areas may be off-limits (like The Shire in December 2005), but generally, it’s a mix wherever you go. The occasional death stare from afar or the overly aggressive person in a shop queue. In fact, it’s in Muslim-populated areas that the reactions can be worse (“Too many Muslims”, thinks the bogan). I guess my point is it’s widespread (in varying degrees granted), not limited to certain areas.

It reminds me of a terrible piece I read in SMH’s Radar last year (censure in itself, I know), which had a journalist spending the day with a Muslim woman and her daughter to assess Sydney’s bigotry. The result was two Muslims looking for prejudice. They went to Chatswood on Sydney’s North Shore, which by no means is an area hostile to Muslims despite a lack of them there. They reduced friendliness to sympathy and fear. It was a pathetic article in the end and seemed to prove the opposite of what the Muslim women were trying to say.

There isn’t a problem with Muslims in Sydney, there’s a problem with the Lebanese community and as a result Muslims are consistently having their reputations trashed in the public arena. The problem exists in Melbourne too but because there are a lot more Lebanese in Sydney it’s more visible. There is a big problem with that community and we all suffer for it.

I don’t think that’s necessarily the case. Obviously certain high-profile cases have tarnished the community, but we can’t dismiss the part of world events in exacerbating fragile community perceptions, a negative image that we all have to pay for.

Personally though I am against thinking like that because I think it defeats the purpose of being in Australia. If we isolate ourselves then we only cause more barriers and misunderstandings between us and the wider society.

I just wanted to comment on the aspect of Sydney’s suburban divisions.

Fatima, I found your comments very significant, but I was surprised by this:

My friend from Sydney was telling me that she and her friends don’t go outside the ‘Muslim’ areas like Lakemba etc.

I don’t think this is a fair depiction of the state of things in Sydney. With all due respect, I think some Muslims may have an isolationist approach themselves.

I don’t live in a predominantly Muslim area, and I have only ever worked in areas that similarly are not predominantly Muslim, and besides the occasional incident, the situation isn’t so dire that I worry about being in those areas.

I suppose it could be fairly argued, however, that Sydney has a level of hostility that Melbourne doesn’t. I did notice the difference on previous visits to Melbourne.

As a niqaabi I do get a lot of looks but I find I tend to get less abuse than my hijabi counterparts. When I was in Melbourne I lived in a good area and never received any abuse there (except one time at Centerlink but that was a druggie that I don’t really count). Most people would take a quick look but would be embaressed if caught looking. It was curiosity and it doesn’t bother me in the slightest if people stare at me. It is that curiosity I arouse in people that leads to people stopping me wherever I go to ask me questions. The few times I have had verbal abuse has been in the Northern suburbs where there is a fairly large Muslim population. I attribute this more to the fact that the level of education is a lot lower there.

Overall though I think it depends on your outlook. You can let every stare or glance get to you and make you upset or you can just smile and walk along happily without it bothering you. I find if you are a confident person then you are less likely to be abused. I always talk with shopkeepers and people outside. They are really surprised (although they try not to show it) because I think they think I can’t speak English

I think it is sad reflection on our society though that we as Muslim women have to accept abuse even if it is a rarity as part of our lives.

My impression is that Sydney has an ugly racist underbelly, and that in certain areas people are nasty.

My sister finds that being incredibly polite, and giving these rude people a beaming smile and ignoring their rudeness (or making out that one does not perceive their rudeness) both humiliates and infuriates them.

It is also a Prophetic sunnah (PBUH) for dealing with this type of person.

People who come here with similar views are generally cowardly and wilt when they are challenged.

In niqaab, I found that some people were rude, others were completely indifferent, but many went out of their way to speak to me and be polite. I don’t know if it was because they wanted to emphasize that they weren’t bigoted, but my friend once commented she got some of the warmest reception from salespeople of her life when she went out with me.

The great thing about big cities is you get to witness the very best and worst that humanity has to offer on a daily basis, and London is no exception. The interesting thing I noticed is these incidents tend to be in extremes, where I experience very good treatment by some people or very bad treatment by others. It’s like a war between those who are trying to prove that English people are tolerant and those who aren’t. And even though humans tend to remember the bad and more often forget the good done to them, Id say the victors are the former, solely because it’s easy to be hateful, but having to deal with all their daily problems and still be exceptionally polite to a stranger is something to feel positive about.

There is no doubt that these incidents are real, I’ve had my fair share, and to assume it was because we’re Muslim or wear the hijab or are ethnic wouldn’t be far-fetched, more often than not, we’re right on the money. But the question is whether we should let these experiences define us. As my father reminds me “We should not use the victim mentality as a currency to sell our cause”.