Senator Andrew Bartlett Deputy Parliamentary Leader and Democrats Senator for Queensland Australian Democrats spokesperson for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs
Newspaper's Attacks on Griffith University Alarmist and Destructive
Queensland Senator Andrew Bartlett has criticised the repeated attacks on Griffith University's Brisbane based Islamic Research Unit by The Australian newspaper as misleading, alarmist and destructive.
"I have seen a lot of the work undertaken by the Islamic Research Unit and Queensland should be proud to have a body performing such a valuable and high quality role," Senator Bartlett said.
"Australia would benefit from more of this type of work, which improves understanding and builds greater connections between Muslim communities and the liberal democratic values of our wider society."
"Many in government and the mass media – including The Australian – have been belligerently badgering Australia's Muslim community to engage more with the wider Australian community and promote mainstream Islamic thought and traditions. Yet when precisely this sort of work is being done - in conjunction with a reputable University with a significant Muslim student component - it gets subjected to repeated front page smears in the national media."
"These sorts of alarmist and unfounded attacks are not only unfair; they are incredibly destructive and just make it harder to build understanding and integration between Muslims and wider society."
"For better or worse, Australia's Universities are now heavily reliant on seeking funding partnerships from a wide variety of commercial and international sources, and on fees paid by a large number of overseas students.
"Surely it is desirable that students coming from Muslim countries have the opportunity to engage with liberal democratic values in a context which is knowledgeable of Muslim history, values and traditions.
"It is a legitimate issue to explore the fact that the University has received some funding from the Saudi Arabian government. However, by refusing to examine or recognise the extensive positive work that the Islamic Research Unit has done and in the absence of a single shred of evidence that it is promoting extremist or violent forms of Wahhabism, The Australian is unfairly smearing an institution which has a record of constructive engagement and debate on important, complex and sometimes difficult issues," Senator Bartlett concluded.
