fear for muslims
Last Saturday I was feeling down with a bad cold, so while Dan went off on the lovely sunny day to play golf, I stayed at home to…. well do nothing.
A friend called around to pick up some Babylon 5 videos. He and I share an obsession with the Babylon 5 sci-fi world.
My friend is a Muslim and works for the Islamic Council of Victoria as the coordinating chaplain for prisons in Victoria. As we were chatting over coffee I asked him about the feeling around the Mosque in regard to the invasion of Iraq. These were some of his reflections:
* The general feeling is fear and most Muslims are trying to keep as low profile as they can in Australia
* The people around the Mosque can’t stand Saddam Hussein and Bin Laden
* Many Muslims are wondering when John Howard is going to round them up and put them in concentration camps
* Those who come from Iraq are fearing that they will be sent back soon
* The “dob in a a terrorist” campaign run by the Howard government (which included information packs to all Australian homes and ads on TV and radio) reminded them of the secret police operating procedures in their countries of origin.
As a white, anglo-saxon male I am once again reminded of my luck to be born in this country. This luck places me in a very privileged position. I can almost hear Jesus reminding me that this privileged position comes with a responsibility.
But I must admit to feeling very powerless and overwhelmed by the ‘powers and principalities’ of the world at the moment.
My friend has facilitated a dialog via email between myself and Yasser Soliman (President of the Islamic Council of Victoria) to explore what a local church in an area with a large population and high visibility of Muslims can do to help. Check out the press release Yasser and I did after S11 here.
I pray for my friend and for the Muslims in Australia because it seems that this is one of the few things I can do for them.