Muslim leaders at loggerheads with Labor over Islamophobia envoy
Labor’s search for an Islamophobia envoy has stalled since it became a responsibility of Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, Muslim leaders grow more frustrated.
Labor has left the Australian Muslim community in the dark following a disjointed selection process for the Islamophobia envoy that saw several candidates decline the role given a “lack of information” from the government.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared the appointment would be made seven weeks ago after tapping in Jillian Segal as Australia’s anti-Semitism envoy. But the process has since stalled after the government’s ministerial reshuffle in July.
It’s understood the government, under the leadership of the former immigration minister Andrew Giles, discussed the role with several male candidates - including Islamic College of Brisbane CEO Ali Kadri. All of them declined the position due to a lack of clarity.
The responsibility of the appointment now falls onto Tony Burke, who was given the Home Affairs and Immigration portfolios after a government reshuffle in July.
A number of Islamic leaders The Australian spoke with have confirmed the appointment of a special envoy was not required while raising concerns of Labor using the issue as a “tokenistic gesture.”
The Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV), which represents an estimated 270,000 Muslims in Australia, said the envoy risks being perceived as an apologist for the government - a reputation that could severely hamper their ability to affect meaningful change.
“I think the government has been surprised by the lack of traction by the Muslim community. They’ve committed to the role without getting their ducks in order,” ICV President Adel Salman said.
Some Muslim leaders question why the government doesn’t empower existing bodies like the Race Commissioner instead of creating a new position. Other suggestions include enhancing current institutions, such as the Australian Human Rights Commission, and strengthening anti-discrimination laws and legislation to more effectively address issues like Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.
The head of the Islamic College in Brisbane Ali Kadri, who was once branded a “traitor” by pro-Palestinian demonstrators during a rally, said Andrew Giles approached him for the position before the government’s ministerial shuffle, but the offer fell flat when Tony Burke took over his portfolio.
Mr Kadri said he wanted more information on the role, which was not provided.
“I haven’t heard back to this date,” he said.
Asked if he thinks it was because of the portfolio change, he said “I don’t see any other reason.”
The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) CEO Kamal Debbusi said they’ve received no recent updates from Tony Burke since he took up the new position as Home Affairs minister.
Islamophobic attacks in Australia increased by more than 600 per cent since October 7 last year, with many more unreported cases, according to the latest statistics from the Islamophobia registry in Australia (IRA).
The Executive Director of the IRA Dr Nora Amath said given the lack of information about the role, “it is very difficult for us to provide our thoughts or commentary on the envoy.”
The office of Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke attributed the rise in Islamophobia to the war in the Middle East, saying it should be a “grave concern” for everyone in parliament.
A spokesperson for Mr Burke said the appointment of the envoy will be made in “due course” but declined to specify a time frame.
“Our government is committed to Palestinian and Israeli communities in Australia and preventing violence overseas spreading into our communities,” the spokesperson said.
“The rise in Islamophobia and anti-Semitism should be of concern to everyone in this parliament, and is of grave concern to this government.”
The Palestinian envoy to Australia Izzat Salah Abdulhadi said the delegation in Canberra received dozens of Islamophobic reports which it directed to the Australian Federal Police.
“We witnessed ourselves, huge numbers of emails coming into our own inbox by different people here in Australia about Islam in particular,” Mr Abdulhadi said.
“After having consultations with people, I can see that there is some sort of hesitation from the Arab Muslim and Christian communities about having a special envoy.”
“We don’t know what the job description is, so there is some hesitation... as if the government was to escape forward, not to solve the actual problem,” he said.
It led to a rebuke from the Opposition’s Immigration spokesperson Dan Tehan, who criticised the government for taking a long time to consult with Australia’s Muslim communities while Islamophobia was on the rise.
“The Coalition supported the appointment of a special envoy to combat anti-Semitism and like the rest of Australia, we are still waiting for the government to appoint a special envoy to combat islamophobia,” Mr Tehan said.
“Is this a sign the Albanese Labor government is not properly engaging with Australia’s Muslim community?”
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