West

On the Question of Muslim Assimilation – An Open Letter to the Prime Minister from Hizb ut-Tahrir Au

We note with concern your recent comments concerning Muslim assimilation as expressed on Neil Mitchell’s 3AW program on Friday 11th May 2007.

Allow us to briefly re-visit some of what you had to say.

When questioned about the allocation of funding in the 2007-08 Federal Budget for the express purpose of Muslim assimilation, you responded: “Well there's every reason to try and assimilate, and I unapologetically use that word, assimilate a section of the community, a tiny minority of whose members have caused concern and after all once somebody's become a citizen of this country the best thing we can do is to absorb them into the mainstream.”

When further questioned as to the necessity of targeting the Muslim community specifically, you retorted: “…the reason that the religion is used as a descriptor is that it's a small category of radical Muslims that have adopted attitudes that we think are bad for the country and the most sensible thing to do is to try and change those attitudes. We're not trying to change people's religious beliefs.”

This is certainly not the first time you have sought to express yourself concerning the affairs of Muslims, both domestically and internationally. In recent years, you have ensured the public conscience’s fixation with Islam and Muslims by igniting the debate on anything from the ubiquitous war on terror, to home-grown terrorism, radicalisation of the Muslim community, Muslim leadership, Muslim values, Muslim groups, Muslim assimilation, Muslim immigration, Muslim headscarves, Muslim schools, Muslim universities, Muslim places of worship and even recalcitrant Muslim high school students!

It is a sure sign of duplicity when you seek to hide behind the cloak of rhetoric in an attempt to mask your intentions whilst simultaneously seeking to malign an entire community. You insist that you are ‘not trying to change people's religious beliefs’, but despite your professed concerns regarding a ‘small minority’ of ‘radical Muslims’, the matters you ostensibly present as warranting serious consideration are in fact matters that lie at the heart of the Islamic belief.

You have cast aspersions against Islam globally whilst seeking to control the affairs of the Muslims locally. You have questioned the relevance of Islam and argued in favour of its reformation. You have sought to undermine our belief in Islam by questioning its universality. You have insulted Islam by criticising its divine rulings. You have sought to impose, by stealth, your ideological persuasion by constructing a new liberal and secular version of Islam. You have also sought to create a schism between the adherents of Islam by subjectively ascribing artificial labels.

On the domestic front, you have sought to regulate not just the behaviour of the Muslim community but have sought to undermine its very confidence. You have consistently questioned their loyalties and requested recurring affirmations. You have criticised their customs and demonised their practices. You have belittled their institutions and undermined its leaders. You have sought to sever their universal ties of brotherhood by localising their outlook. You have even sought the uncontested leadership over the future direction of Islam in Australia.

But given your inability to confront this issue with genuine intellectual rigour, let us remind you of three basic realities:

1. Islam is more than just a religion – it is a complete way of life, the adherents of whom are bonded by an unshakable conviction in the correctness of their belief. From this belief springs forth detailed proscriptions for every facet of life, be it the personal or the political. Any attempt to alter this basic reality is one that will be considered a direct affront to the fundamental belief of every Muslim.

2. Assimilation, the term you ‘unapologetically’ employ, is a call to relinquish one set of beliefs in favour of another, to the extent that the former becomes indistinguishable from the latter. When applied to the Muslim community, one must question which beliefs require abandonment and which beliefs require adoption in order to successfully ‘assimilate’ into Australian society?

Given your obvious equivocation, is it safe to assume then that the Muslim community will only satisfy the conditions of ‘assimilation’ when we replace the loyalty to our Creator with loyalty to creation, replace the bonds of brotherhood with the bonds of nationalism and accept immodesty in replace of virtue? Does assimilation mean that we must renounce our Islamic identity, reject our Islamic modesty, and refuse to be concerned about our brethren globally? Does assimilation mean a desire of the Muslim community to accept the fruits of ‘freedom’ – the breakdown of the family, abandonment of the elderly, neglect of the young and the proliferation of drugs and crime? Your silence on these issues is deafening.

3. Every citizen of this country is subject to the same set of laws. The question that must be asked is why has the government afforded specific attention to Islam and Muslims? Has the Muslim community, whether individually or collectively, requested to operate outside the ambit of the law? Has the Muslim community, by virtue of its adoption of Islam, violated any tenet of the law? The answer is obviously no!

So why is it considered unacceptable by the government for the Muslim community to possess a distinct set of attitudes? Is the government instituting similar measures with any other segment of society? How is it possible then for the government to impose requirements upon the Muslim community that exceed the law by seeking to deprive the Muslim community of its belief in Islam?

It should be remembered that the Muslim community is resolute in its conviction in Islam, and it considers itself, as a consequence of this belief, to be an inseparable part of the global Muslim community. At the same time, our attachment to Islam serves as the primary impetus behind our constructive engagement with society, and despite the apocalyptic predictions of some, it is through our adherence to Islam that we ensure our positive contribution to society.

The global existence of over 1.5 billion Muslims is an undeniable reality. The Muslim world is characterised by its unique history, beliefs and values system. It is naive, if not dangerous, to presume that the Muslim world can be readily moulded according to Western political constructs. Rather than seeking its adaptation, the Western world should more concerned with the appropriateness of its engagement.

Whilst it comes as no surprise that igniting the Muslim debate serves short-term political objectives, we should all be concerned about the longer-term consequences of a policy of marginalisation. The government, eager to exploit prejudices and agitate an already polarised society, should urgently reconsider its approach with the Muslim community.

Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia
18 May 2007                                           
1 Jamaadil Awal 1428