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Justin Olmstead 4492529
Inclusion and diversity research essay
How has the so-called Age of Terrorism affected Muslims in their pursuit of education in Australia?
Australias young Muslims face many challenges in accessing quality education while preserving their own culture. Generally misrepresented in Australias media, mostly omitted in Australian curriculum, and misunderstood by many Australians as failing to integrate or simply incompatible with Western society, Australian Muslims could be forgiven for wondering if multiculturalism in Australia has failed. With the advancement of knowledge and continued Muslim integration some ground has been made, but much more must be done if Muslims are to be afforded the same education opportunities that non-Muslims enjoy in Australia. The Australian publics perception of Muslims creates a major barrier to their education. The Australian mainstream media, from which many Australians gather information on Muslims, is largely responsible for the perpetuation of the idea of an ever-present Muslim terrorist threat. This preoccupation with the so- called Age of Terrorism perpetuates a failure to differentiate between everyday, moderate followers of Islam and radical, murderous terrorists. As Poole (2006) asserts, Australians seem to see Muslims through their press coverage ofconflicts in the Middle East, which is largely about military engagement (p.128). The moderate Muslim majority are held to account for the actions of the radical few who have committed terrorist acts on the US World Trade Centre or Bali tourist areas, in Islams name. This negative publicity also positions Muslims as a threat to the Australian way of life that politicians and the general public seek to define and propagate. The knowledge that some of the September 11 terrorists had operated in the United States through migration networks causes many Australians to regard Muslim asylum seekers as potential terrorists intent on infiltrating and destroying the Australian way of life (Mansouri 2008 p33). This paranoia follows Muslims into workplaces, into neighbourhoods, into schools. The Age of Terrorism has seen non-Muslim Australians misinterpret Muslim behaviour and erroneously assume they are unwilling to integrate into Australian society. Muslims traditional dress has faced particularly keen scrutiny, and students have been subjected to irrational prejudice. In 2005, Liberal backbencher Bronwyn Bishop seemingly bowed to public paranoia by supporting a ban on girls wearing the traditional hijab in state schools. Bishop said that what we're really seeing in our country is a clash of cultures and indeed, the headscarf is being used as a sort of iconic item of defiance (The Age, 28 August 2005). Bishops stance, supported by other Liberal MPs, highlighted the popular, yet mistaken perception that Muslims are unwilling to integrate into Australian schools, that they dressed to provoke conflict. Cruelly, it was a view that brought unwanted, invasive attention to Muslim girls attempting to remain Justin Olmstead 4492529
modest and respectful of their culture, and undoubtedly caused much disruption to their education. A major hurdle in providing inclusive education for Muslims in Australia is a refusal to acknowledge that there is a problem. As Apple (2010) asserts, this problem is not unique to the education of Australias Muslims: Most governments know least about the slumsabout the services that they need and (almost always) dont get, and so on. The lack of knowledge here provides an epistemological veil. What goes on under the veil is a secret that must be kept from public view. To know is to be subject to demands (Davis 2006 and Foucalt 1977 cited in Apple p.10). Although it is clear that not all governments and school councils are adopting this head-in-the-sand approach, and many are becoming increasingly aware of the education needs of Muslims, deliberate and comprehensive reforms are required. Swetnam (2003) offers that an overhaul of curriculums, to include the multicultural content, concepts, and activities at the desired level of integration (more than bits and pieces or separate units) would be a more successful, broad- reaching strategy (p.209). It would also be pertinent for schools to recruit and train Arabic and Turkish-speaking teachers or other cultural mediators to explain classroom pedagogy and methods of discipline to parents (Akbarzadeh 2001 p.128). In the authors experience, an elder or other highly respected member of a minority community who can perform home visits, and who can mediate between families and the sometimes intimidating environment of a new school, has achieved great results. A staff member with intimate knowledge of the different groups within the Muslim faith, and an inclusive atmosphere in which school staff feel comfortable to challenge existing stereotypes is essential. Like other ethnic minorities, school-age Muslims from recent immigrant families must adhere to the demands of two cultures at a time when most adolescents are simply trying to fit in and make friends. The challenge, Bennett (2009) asserts, involves not only two languages, but also different behavioural and social expectations (p.53). Clearly, this is a difficult balancing act. Muslim students cant always find the right balance between educating and preparing themselves for participating fully in public, community and economic life, and staying true to their deeply held cultural beliefs (Mansouri 2008 p.17). Some Muslim students form defensive cliques as a means of reinforcing their sense of identity and belonging (Mansouri 2008 p.21). Its difficult to gauge if these cliques do the students more harm than good in the long run, given that they reinforce stigmas about their failure to integrate. However, its clear that, if choosing between assimilation and Islam, the basic instinct of the people is to protect their religion (Rabasa 2004 p.127). While it is imperative that Muslims do protect and strengthen their own culture, the prevalent state of ignorance and paranoia surrounding them dictates that they also actively seek to improve their public profile by educating others about their wish to be Australian. Ata (2014) ventures to say that Muslims should make clearer their stance on issues of extremism and moderationallay the fears of many other Australians who wish to know who the moderates are and who are the fanatics (p.5). His is a blunt assessment, but Ata raises a valid point the negative stereotypes surrounding Muslims will not go away if they are ignored. For Muslim students, proactive Justin Olmstead 4492529
efforts to integrate and help demystify their faith can make their school experiences more fulfilling. The very structure and curriculums of Australian government schools have both indirectly and directly discriminated against Muslim students. Australian government schools are compulsory, free and secular, which means that religious education is generally missing from the curriculum, or poorly taught (Victorian Education Act 1872). This is a major concern for many Muslims who believe that education is a religious obligation, not a secular processabout learning the revealed will of Allah (Akbarzadeh 2001). This means that Australian government schools, while not overtly opposing Islamic values, devalue them by omission which causes frustration for Muslim students who seek the right balance of learning and preservation of Islamic beliefs (Akbarzadeh p.120). Muslim parents are understandably sceptical about schools that they fear may turn their children against Islam, or view it as irrelevant, irrational, erroneous and archaic (Ashraf 1998 p.48). The problem is exacerbated when schools offer religious education merely as an elective taught by community volunteers who are not always trained teachers, and so its neither taught as well as core subjects, nor given as much prominence by staff (Akbarzadeh 2001 p.123). Its understandable, then, that Muslims either disengage with school altogether, or seek education elsewhere. Frustrated and alienated by an education system that creates a division between religious knowledge and religious practice, many Muslim students seek education at Islamic schools (Akbarzadeh 2001 p123). These schools, within which Muslim students suffer none of the bullying, prejudging and discrimination experienced at Australian government schools, are opening with increased frequency. McNeilage (2013) reported in 2013 that Islamic schools in New South Wales were the fastest growing sector in the state, with some expanding so quickly they have had to freeze waiting lists, highlighting their viability (The Sydney Morning Herald online). Students in these schools are thriving, with students at many of the schools, including Rissalah College at Lakemba, achieving strong academic results (McNeilage The Sydney Morning Herald online 2013). It is unfortunate to note that many students must be turned away due to unmanageable waiting lists, and that Islamic schools are scarcer in other Australian states. Disturbingly, Islamic schools have also prompted some non-Muslims to view these schools as further proof of Muslims failure or unwillingness to assimilate, with vandalism and graffiti attacks not uncommon (Kabir 2005). Time will tell if these negative attitudes are dispelled as the Islamic school system prospers and becomes more familiar to non-Muslim Australians. Australias Muslim students must remain committed to their endeavour of completing meaningful education while preserving their culture. With positive public perceptions failing to evolve at the rate that they seek to integrate into Australian society, Muslim students are forced to negotiate the already challenging education landscape under a cloud of paranoia and hostility. A deliberate, proactive partnership between Muslim students and their parents, governments and educators must be forged in order to build an inclusive culture wherein Muslims may prosper. Justin Olmstead 4492529
Bibliography http://ausvels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/English/Overview/Diversity-of-learners Akbarzadeh, S & Saeed, A 2001, Muslim Communities in Australia, University of New South Wales Press, Sydney. Apple, M (ed.) 2010, Global Crises, Social Justice, and Education, Routledge, New York. Ashraf, SA, cited by B OKeefe (ed), 1988, Schools for Tomorrow, The Falmer Press, London. Ata, Abe W (ed.) 2014, Education integration challenges: the case of Australian Muslims, David Lovell Publishing, Melbourne. Bahr, N & Pendergast, D 2007, The Millennial Adolescent, [online]. ACER Press, Camberwell. Bennett, D, Towns, S & Elliott, E 2009, Health and Human Development: Challenges in Adolescent Health: An Australian Perspective. Nova Science Publishers, Inc., New York. Freire, P 1970, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Penguin, London. Kabir, N 2005, Muslims in Australia: Immigration, Race Relations, and Cultural History, Routledge, Oxon. Kabir, N 2007, Muslims in Australia: The Double Edge of Terrorism in Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Volume 33, Issue 8. Mansouri, F & Wood, SP 2008, Identity, Education and Belonging: Arab and Muslim Youth in Contemporary Australia [online]. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne. McNeilage, A 2013 Islamic student numbers soar, in The Sydney Morning Herald online, 4 August 2013, viewed 9 March 2014. <http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/islamic-student- numbers-soar-20130803-2r668.html> Morey, P & Yaqin, A 2011, Framing Muslims: Stereotyping and Representation after 9/11, Harvard University Press, Cambridge. Poole, E & Richardson, JE 2006 Muslims and the News Media, Taurus, London. Rabasa, A 2004 The Muslim World After 9/11, Rand, Santa Monica. Rane, H, Nathie, M, Isakhan, B, & Abdalla, M 2011 Towards understanding what Australias Muslims really think Journal of Sociology 47: 123. Justin Olmstead 4492529
Swetnam, LA Mar. Apr 2003, Lessons on Multicultural Education from Australia and the United States, The Clearing House Vol. 76, No. 4, p208-211. Victorian Education Act 1872 http://foundingdocs.gov.au/item-sdid-25.html 2005, Bishop backs headscarf ban, The Age, 28 August, viewed 10 March 2014, <http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/liberal-mp-backs-headscarf- ban/2005/08/28/1125167541500.html>