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RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 3624
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RUEHDN/AMCONSUL SYDNEY 2116
RUEHPT/AMCONSUL PERTH 1597

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MELBOURNE 000092 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PTER PINR AS
SUBJECT: VICTORIA'S MUSLIM COMMUNITIES 
 
REF: A) Melbourne 90, B) Melbourne 18, C) 08 Melbourne 117, D) 08 
Melbourne 66, E) 08 Canberra 90 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) The Muslim population represents a very small percentage of 
the Victorian community, yet it spends a disproportionate amount of 
time in the news due to events like the August 4 arrests of six 
terror suspects in Melbourne and the 2008-2009 Benbrika terror 
trial.  In Victoria, it is not fair to speak of one Muslim 
community, as national origin often trumps religious affiliation. 
Muslims here have generally integrated well, and where problems 
persist, the state government and NGOs are active.  While more 
extreme views sometimes surface, Victoria's Muslim communities have 
historically responded by distancing themselves from these ideas and 
emphasizing their common Australian identity.  End Summary. 
 
Not Just One Community 
---------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) In Victoria, it is not accurate to refer to a single 
"Muslim Community."  According to Dr. Hass Dellal, Executive 
Director of the Australian Multicultural Foundation, Victorian 
Muslims share religious beliefs, but they tend to distinguish 
themselves primarily on the basis of national origin.  Ali Gurdag, a 
multicultural liaison officer within the Victoria police, confirmed 
that the "primary uniting factor is nationalism."  Melbourne's 
heavily Muslim suburbs bear out this trend, with shops and 
restaurants from specific countries clustered closely together. 
Gurdag went on to say that Shi'as, in particular, tend to trade and 
worship exclusively in their neighborhoods.  However, post noticed 
during several visits to Melbourne's suburban mosques that those 
praying represented a wide spectrum of ethnic origins.  At the 
Albanian mosque, for example, those offering prayers were 
predominantly immigrants from North African and Gulf countries. 
 
¶3. (SBU) According to the 2006 (the most recent) Victorian census, 
there are at least 110,000 Muslims living in Victoria, making up 
around 2.2 percent of the state's population.  By contrast, nearly 
60 percent of Victorians identify themselves as "Christians."  Of 
those who considered themselves to be "Muslim," 38.1 percent 
identified as "born in Australia."  (Note: Nearly 26 percent of 
Victorians were born overseas.  End note.)  Turkish Muslims are the 
next largest group, comprising 11 percent.  Lebanese, Afghani, and 
Pakistani Muslims round out the top five, with 5.8, 4.6, and 3.5 
percent respectively.  Most of these Muslims identify as Sunnis, 
though more Shi'as have come to Australia recently.  Ali Gurdag 
notes that Victoria is also witnessing an influx of African Muslims, 
particularly from Sudan and Somalia who contend with racism in 
addition to negative stereotypes of Muslims.  The recently 
apprehended suspects in the August 4 anti-terror investigation hail 
primarily from Somalia (Ref. A). 
 
Community Policing 
------------------ 
 
¶4. (SBU) Community policing represents a major component of the 
Victorian government's outreach with the state's Muslim communities. 
 Victoria police's multicultural liaison unit was created just two 
days after the September 11 attacks.  Liaison officers provide 
cross-cultural training to fellow police and engage with Muslim 
communities to preempt crime.  Many of these officers are assigned 
to "high-risk" areas and disenfranchised neighborhoods.  Sheikh 
Fehmi Naji El Imam, Australia's Mufti and General Secretary of the 
Islamic Society of Victoria (ISV), told post that the ISV meets 
weekly with the Victoria police department in order to share 
information on developments throughout the state. 
 
¶5. (SBU) A police department program called "Rush Hour" seeks to 
"encourage Australian Muslims to join the police force" and is run 
in concert with a local Islamic youth association.  The Summer Youth 
Program run out of Melbourne's Flemington suburb engages with Muslim 
youth and seeks to educate them about their "right and 
responsibilities" about living in Australia.  This program is run 
cooperatively with Somali and Eritrean community organizations.  The 
multicultural unit of the police force even reaches out to churches 
and synagogues to provide education on Islam. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Muslim communities are very involved in this collaborative 
approach.  In February 2009, seven members of a terrorist cell in 
Melbourne were sentenced for terrorist-related offenses, in large 
part due to tips provided by Victorian Muslims (Refs. B-E).  Sheikh 
 
MELBOURNE 00000092  002 OF 003 
 
 
Fehmi told post that a few months later, two of the men charged in 
the terror trial, but who were subsequently acquitted, played in an 
organized soccer game between Muslim communities and the Victoria 
police department.  Fehmi went on to say that this was intended to 
"demonstrate that there were no hard feelings" toward the police. 
Dr. Hass Dellal told post that there is a strong sense of belonging 
in Muslim communities such that when issues like the Benbrika terror 
trial surface, "people push back."  Dr. Dellal said that many 
Muslims living in Australia have come from troubled places and have 
no desire to bring that trouble to Australia. 
 
Other Outreach 
-------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) The multicultural police unit also meets with Joumanah 
el-Matrah, Executive Director of the Islamic Women's Welfare Council 
(IWWC) to discuss women's issues.  (Note: The GOA has funded the 
IWWC since 1991.  End Note.)  The IWWC runs outreach programs such 
as teaching non-Muslim school children about Islam.  The IWWC also 
provides literature to the general public that promotes tolerance 
and understanding.  Many of these publications are created jointly 
with the GOA's Department of Immigration, Multicultural and 
Indigenous Affairs. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Vahid Goga, President of the Albanian-Australian Islamic 
Association (AAIA) said that his organization raises charity money 
for disasters like the Victorian bushfires of February 2009, 
sponsors impoverished children in Africa, and funds water wells in 
Bangladesh.  Goga said that members of his mosque meet with 
non-Muslim neighbors to inform them of upcoming events and holidays. 
 He said this kind of proactive outreach helps to dispel 
misunderstanding and fosters a positive image of Islam. 
 
Importance of Young Muslims 
--------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Post was told almost uniformly that the youth are making 
their presence increasingly felt in the Victorian Muslim 
communities.  According to Vahid Goga, young people at his mosque 
are the most active in organizing and participating in community 
events; the youth sparked the mosque's involvement in the wildfire 
relief activities in February.  At the Islamic Society of Victoria's 
Preston Mosque headquarters, Sheikh Fehmi told post that young 
Muslims comprise the majority of those who routinely come to the 
mosque for morning prayers.  (Comment: Ironically, the Muslim youth 
are also the most at-risk for being introduced to extremist views. 
The men apprehended in the August 4 investigation are predominantly 
between the ages of 22 and 26.  End Comment.) 
 
Muslim Response to the August 4 Arrests 
--------------------------------------- 
 
10 (SBU) Joumanah el-Matrah noted that there is a growing 
realization in Muslim communities that the way to gain acceptance 
and understanding is through proactive outreach via publications and 
community programs.  Immediately following the August 4 police raids 
around Melbourne, some of the leading Islamic associations released 
statements.  The Australian Intercultural Society, an organization 
"committed to multi-faith dialogue," released a scathing statement 
on behalf of its members criticizing those involved in the 
conspiracy and assuring the Australian public that such extremist 
views are not permissible within the scope of Islam.  The Islamic 
Council of Victoria sent a message urging its members to be vigilant 
of harassment and Islamophobia that have historically arisen out of 
the situations like the arrests. 
 
Issues Persist 
-------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Victoria's Muslim communities are affected by many of the 
same problems impacting other minorities in the state.  Joumanah 
El-Matrah said that the biggest issues facing Muslims are 
homelessness, lack of opportunity and domestic violence against 
women.  El Matrah also said that racial violence, directed primarily 
at women, reached its peak following September 11 but has since 
declined.  According to El-Matrah, Muslim women do not tend to come 
forward when they experience domestic abuse.  Women from 
Afghanistan, Sudan, and Somalia are withdrawing from society and its 
pillars of support.  The IWWA provides support and counseling to 
victims of crime.  It has also attempted to provide outreach to 
Muslim men, but eventually abandoned the enterprise due to a lack of 
progress.  Referring to what she considered to be discrimination, 
El-Matrah said that Muslims tend to have higher rates of 
 
MELBOURNE 00000092  003 OF 003 
 
 
unemployment compared to other communities.  Some Muslims, when 
filling out job applications, tend to use western names rather than 
Islamic ones; they hope that using such a name will increase their 
chances of being hired. 
 
¶12. (SBU) In January 2009, Samir Mohtadi, a Melbourne-based cleric 
made public statements condoning rape within marriage.  This 
provoked a universal condemnation by Australia's Muslim leaders. 
Prime Minister Rudd remarked "under no circumstances is sexual 
violence acceptable or permissible in Australia.  The remarks do not 
stand up in modern Australia and he should stand up, repudiate them 
and apologize."  Melbourne is also home to fundamentalist Sheikh 
Mohammed Omran who has been accused of radicalizing youth, including 
some from Somalia.  Omran has publicly stated that Muslims were not 
responsible for the 9/11 attacks or the July 7 London bombings. 
According to Ali Gurdag, only in the last ten years have Muslims 
made inroads on the economic front.  He said that high unemployment 
has generated feelings of disenfranchisement and ostracism.  Some of 
those disenfranchised Muslims may gravitate towards Wahabism. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶13. (SBU) Events like the August 4 arrests, the Benbrika terror 
trial and Imam Mohtadi's comments have engendered a realization that 
Muslims must be pro-active in seeking understanding for what Sheikh 
Fehmi called the "world's most poorly understood religion."  The 
members of Victoria's Muslim communities retain a sense of affinity 
with the rest of the Australian population; this stems from such a 
large percentage of Muslims being Australian-born.  There are, 
however, veins of the population which share more conservative 
viewpoints, and which have difficulty balancing their faith and 
their obligations while living in Australia.  Post visits to mosques 
confirmed this idea.  Some fundamentalist Muslim groups do develop 
extremist views, particularly in Melbourne's poorer suburbs. 
However, the majority of Muslims in Victoria manage easily to be 
both devout Muslims and modern Australians. 
 
THURSTON