Australian Muslim MP denies Muslims being targeted

ABC Online

AM - Australian Muslim MP denies Muslims being targeted

TONY EASTLEY: Australia′s only publicly-declared Muslim MP believes his community was not being targeted by last week′s anti-terrorism raids, and he says that extremists and ′isolationists′ in his community are actively trying to ferment hatred and division.

Adem Somyurek is a Labor member of the Victorian Upper House and a Muslim of Turkish origin.

While prominent Muslim cleric Sheik Taj El Din Al Hilali says the raids were racially based and that Muslims are fearful, Adem Somyurek says that is not the case and the majority of Muslims, he says, support the police action and he says some Muslim leaders need to be ′weeded out′.

Adem Somyurek spoke to Chief Political Correspondent Catherine McGrath.

ADEM SOMYUREK: I don′t think Muslims are being targeted at all. I think the raids, I think most Muslims, the majority of the Muslims would be relieved by the raids over the last week or so.

So, Muslims, like every other Australian would be relieved that these people were caught before they caused some serious damage.

CATHERINE MCGRATH: And yet, some of the messages going out, I mean, I′ll quote to you from what was said by two key Muslim identities in Australia at Friday prayers last week.

Sheik Al Hilali in Sydney at Lakemba mosque said that the terror raids were racially motivated, they were frightening women and children and that they could force young Muslims towards extremism.

ADEM SOMYUREK: The terrorist atrocities that have been committed across, throughout the world, have been committed in the name of Islam. Now you and I and most sensible people understand that in fact the violence has no place in Islam, but these, nevertheless, these people are using and abusing the name of Islam.

So, it′s only logical that when you get 17 people, 17 young men of Muslim backgrounds detained for … who were allegedly in the process of planning a terrorist attack in Melbourne and Sydney, well, you know, what do you expect?

CATHERINE MCGRATH: So do you think the community in a sense should, should what, react more to the fact that arrests have happened rather than look to discrimination against Muslims?

ADEM SOMYUREK: Look, I think the Muslim community, as I said, is relieved that these people have been caught. I mean, there′s a process, there′s a legal process to go through so I don′t want to pre-empt the legal process, but if these people in fact are found to be guilty, the Muslim community will be relieved just like any other Australian, that these people are actually caught and apprehended.

CATHERINE MCGRATH: But what about when Sheikh Mohammed Omran at Friday prayers in Melbourne last week said again that Muslims were being scape-goated. What does that mean then?

ADEM SOMYUREK: People like … I don′t think we should pay much attention to what people like Sheikh Omran said.

These, there′s a couple of characters that keep sort of coming up now and then. They love it. These people like it when these types of things happen. It just … it′s fertile recruiting ground for them. They′re in their elements. I mean these characters surface now and then whenever there′s a tension at all on the Muslim community.

CATHERINE MCGRATH: What are you saying? People like Sheikh Omran and Al-Hilali?

ADEM SOMYUREK: Yeah. Sheikh Omran and the others, yeah.

CATHERINE MCGRATH: Al Hilali as well?

ADEM SOMYUREK: Yeah. They surface at critical junctures and make some pretty intemperate comments.

CATHERINE MCGRATH: But aren′t they …

ADEM SOMYUREK: I mean these…these…

CATHERINE MCGRATH: … influential within the community?

ADEM SOMYUREK: They′re not influential, they′re very, very marginal elements and in fact they′re very much on the fringe and they′re isolationists, so what they want is …

CATHERINE MCGRATH: What do you mean by isolationist?

ADEM SOMYUREK: Well they would want the Muslim community not to integrate with the wider community. They would prefer that the Muslim community stay isolated so that these … it feeds into their hands. It′s like I said, fertile recruiting ground for others.

CATHERINE MCGRATH: So are you suggesting that people like Sheikh Al-Hilali and Sheikh Omran are using this for their own political purposes?

ADEM SOMYUREK: Well I would say the people that preach isolation would be happy with the current discord at the moment.

These people go around telling the disaffected, alienated Muslim youth that society does not like them because they′re Muslim and the mainstream society′s Christian or atheist or whatever, so any hint of any discord, these people take advantage of.

CATHERINE MCGRATH: So you′re suggesting they′re whipping up concern within the Muslim community?

ADEM SOMYUREK: Absolutely.

CATHERINE MCGRATH: So what should the Muslim community do then, if you′re saying people like Sheikh Al Hilali and Sheikh Omran, what should the Muslim community do about people like that?

ADEM SOMYUREK: I don′t want to personalise it too much, but characters that go around preaching hate and violence, they should be reported to the intelligence services, you know?

It′s been, people have sort of turned the other cheek for too long, and now it is time to weed out some of these elements.

TONY EASTLEY: Victorian Upper House MP, Adem Somyurek.