Sunday, June 10, 2007

Islam and a New Mufti for Australia





Islam arrived in Australia long before Christianity did, it was a mere twist of fate that Christianity became the dominant religion in the country. More than two hundred years ago Islamic fishermen from nearby Indonesia visited the north-western coastline of Australia mingling with Australia's Indigenous inhabitants. Even to this day there are words and concepts in north-western Indigenous Australian languages that are distinctly Islamic.

Move forward a couple of hundred years to just after the second world war. During this time there was a great deal of immigration to Australia and one of those immigrants was the then twenty three year old Fehmi from Lebanon. In 1957 Fehmi and a small band of friends formed the first Islamic prayer group in Melbourne which eventually led to the formation of the Islamic Society of Victoria which, in 1976, appointed Fehmi as Imam. Fehmi's first project was fund raising for a large Islamic centre in Melbourne's north, a place called Preston. To this day Fehmi has run the Preston Mosque although Fehmi is now more reverently known as Sheikh Fehmi Naji El-Imam.

Some of you may remember earlier in the year there was created an Australian National Council of Imams who are most well known for their position on the then Mufti, Sheik Taj el-Din Al Hilali . They effectively told the Sheikh that his tenure as Mufti of Australia was up. Today this same council, despite their earlier statement, reappointed Sheik Taj el-Din Al Hilali as the Mufti of Australia. Sheik Taj el-Din Al Hilali , however, turned down the position instead declaring that Sheikh Fehmi Naji El-Imam should be the next Mufti of Australia. So, for the next two years, Sheikh Fehmi Naji El-Imam will be known as Mufti Sheikh Fehmi Naji El-Imam, the Mufti of Australia.

It will be interesting to see the nation's response to the new Mufti, someone who has resided in this country for longer than many other people and someone who has undoubted talent in community building. Gary Bouma, Professor of Sociology at Monash University, claims that 'He is very able to present Australia to the Muslims and Muslims to Australia. He's been very good at presenting these two communities to each other, in a way that promotes co-operation, promotes understanding, promotes mutual interest and reduces fear.' Sheikh Fehmi Naji El-Imam certainly seems to be a very good choice for the Mufti of Australia, I doubt that anyone else with his qualities could be found in this country.

Perhaps the greatest concern with this appointment is the new Mufti's age. Sheikh Fehmi Naji El-Imam is currently 77 years old. I've already heard criticism claiming that due to his age he will be out of touch with the community, both the local Islamic community and the wider national community. Do remember though that Sheikh Fehmi Naji El-Imam played a very important role in shaping the Islamic community of Australia and is well known for his work in interfaith and faith/secular dialogue. If anyone has any doubt as to his credentials then turn to the Order of Australia; Sheikh Fehmi Naji El-Imam was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for service to multiculturalism and to the Muslim community, particularly through the promotion of community harmony and tolerance and to multi-faith understanding. I don't think that a better man could have been given the job.

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