"Being Muslim" in Australia Today Student Blog Interviews

Here is where you can all post your final assignment (#4) for our Contemporary Islam Class.

This format will allow you to include links and pictures if you choose to do so (but this is not required). More importantly, this format will allow you to share your wonderful work with other students, your friends and family.      
So, Enjoy !

Nadir's Blog-Interview

Ahmed on Being Muslim in Decadent West

I have interviewed a high ranking police officer from Dubai whom I will call Ahmad for privacy purposes. Ahmad is thirty eight years old and born and raised in Dubai (one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates). He is currently living in Brisbane to study English on a scholarship granted by the government of Dubai. He has recently celebrated his eight month in Australia and after completing his one year English course, he is planning to study a masters of criminology, again with the financial support of the Dubai government. He is married with children. Even though his family is currently back in Dubai, they will be joining him in near Brisbane in future.

Meegan's Blog-Interview

This interview sought to explore the life of a progressive young woman who sits on the divide of a conservative Muslim family and the fast life of a university student, miles away from her parents’ influence. Safwa, in a way, represents a new generation of Muslim women who embrace the independence of attending university by themselves, and all that it involves. Safwa grew up in Indonesia, where she attended an international school, where all religions intermingled comfortably.

Aisha

Aisha (the fictitious name of the interviewee purely for the purpose of anonymity) has been living in Australia for the past 19 years. Her parents who are of Turkish descent immigrated to Australia when she was 7. Aisha is currently doing her Masters Degree at the Queensland University of Technology concentrating on Tourism and Commerce. Aisha grew up in Wollongong located south of Sydney, where she went school, before moving to Brisbane for University studies. Aisha considers herself Australian provided that she has lived most of her life in Australia and her cultural attachments. However she has maintained close ties with her relatives, visiting them at least once a year. Aisha says that certain Turkish “traces” would always be a part of her.

Being an Australian Muslim

Ahlum is a Muslim who moved with her family to Australia in the early 90’s to get away from the first gulf war. Ahlum is originally from Jordan, a Modernist Islamic country that follows Sharia law. Jordan is a more recent country that was occupied by the British for a long duration of time, which can be argued as a major cause for western Influences and Modernist Islamic typology. Ahlum is highly educated, with a tertiary degree in Pharmacy and owns a pharmacy with her husband. Ahlum chose to assimilate into mainstream Australia culture, behaving and appearing in public society as a mainstream member of Australian culture but will still practise Islam in the same manner as she did before immigrating to Australia, and believes that there are no inconsistencies in being a Muslim and being Australian.

The story of my good friend Ahmed

*the interviewee name has been changed for identity protection

In order to get a better understanding about being a Muslim in Australia. I decided to interview Ahmed who is a good friend of mine. Ahmed is 25 years old now and currently looking for a job. Ahmed was born and raised in Australia when his parents who are originally from Kuwait got divorced. Since then, he has been living in Australia with his mother who took care of him, and he has never seen his father. Ahmed’s first visit to Kuwait was 2 years ago, after the death of his father, when he went there to visit his extended family.

Ahmed’s experience of being a Muslim in Australia

I had the privilege to interview Ahmed* about his experience of being a Muslim in Australia. Ahmed accepted to talk to me without hesitation, and embraced the idea of sharing his experience when I approached him about the interview. Born in Germany and raised in Saudi Arabia, Ahmed came to Australia three years ago to do a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Queensland. Ahmed commenced a dentistry degree in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, and after his first year he obtained a scholarship from the Ministry of Higher Education to study abroad. After having been here for three years, he has gained a sound insight into the Australian way of life and what it means to be a practicing Muslim here.

Jihad: The Internal and External Struggle of Muslims

Safwa, the subject of my interview, is a Lebanese born Muslim Australian, and a follower of the religion of Islam. Her father came from a prominent Lebanese family, which at one stage ruled the country, with her mother also coming from a well known family in Lebanon. Her parents were very much focused on education, pushing her towards academic success, noting how important education is in their faith. She was born a Muslim but when she became old enough to decide for herself which way to go in life she came to the conclusion that Islam was the religion for her.

Being Muslim in Australia Today – The Story of Ahmad

To find more about ‘What it means to be Muslim in Australia today’, I interviewed Ahmad, who is a Muslim living in Australia as a permanent resident. He was born and raised in the Maldives, a country in South Asia whose citizens are Muslims. Ahmad first came to Australia in order to complete his culinary training. He now works at an Italian restaurant. While Ahmad and his wife have been permanent residents for the past four years, they only planned to move to Australia with the birth of their daughter. Their daughter was born in Australia and is an Australian citizen. When asked about the reasons for immigrating to Australia, Ahmad cites the opportunity for a better education and life for his daughter is greater in Australia than in his home country. Additionally, as his daughter is a citizen, it has increased his ties to Australia.

Safwa: Being Muslim in Australia Today

Safwa* was born and raised in Kenya and as the daughter of Somali parents she also feels a strong connection to Somalia. She emigrated to Australia at the age of seventeen and now sees Australia to be her home. Nevertheless, she has continuing concern for the challenges that Muslims face both in Kenya and Somalia, often referring back to these in my interview with her about the challenges of being a Muslim in the Australian context.

"Being Muslim" in Australia Today

“Being Muslim” in Australia Today

There are many perceptions of Australian Muslims and their everyday life. To better understand what it means to be a Muslim in Australia today, I interviewed Safwa who is a 19 year old Iranian born undergraduate student at the University of Queensland. Safwa was 3 years old when her parents moved from Iran to Australia and she has two younger siblings that were born in Australia. When I asked Safwa what it means for her to be a Muslim in Australia, she confirmed with me before she answered that this was an anonymous interview, as she did not want her family to see the interview.

Muslim Heritage Western Outlook - Safwa the Australian

Safwa emigrated from Malaysia as a young child around 1969 with her Malay mother and her father who had served in the British army. The parents of Safwa made an effort to integrate into mainstream Australian society and ensure their daughter experienced as little prejudice as possible whilst still being aware of her roots. Nonetheless they spoke only English with her, which was particularly difficult for her mother who was herself learning it while living in Australia, to ensure Safwa did not have any linguistic difficulties at school. Her father even taught her passages from the Qur’an in English. In Australia, her family had neither a nearby mosque to attend nor any regular contact with other Muslim families.

No Worries!! - An Interview with Safwa - An Australian Muslim.

** Names have been changed in this interview

Islam is the fourth largest religious grouping in Australia, with the 2006 Census reporting that approximately 1.71% (340,392 people) of the population identify as Muslim. The Australian Muslim community is among the most ethnically and racially diverse religious groupings, with members from over 60 different ethnic and racial backgrounds. I had the pleasure of meeting Safwa, an Iraqi national, learning English, at the Institute of Continuing & TESOL Education (ICTE-UQ). We were able to discuss many interesting issues and challenges facing Muslims in Australia such as racism, education, identify challenges, visibility and strength of faith.

Being Muslim in Australia Today

I interviewed Safwa who is a Muslim born in Sudan. When she was two years old her family moved to Australia therefore, she can be said to be an “Australian Muslim”. Safwa’s parents are Muslim migrants, her dad is Egyptian and her mother is a mix of Turkish and Moroccan. It is very important to recognise her background to understand her perception of being Muslim since her cultural background is Australian based. She agrees that her parents are very conservative, and therefore has to deal with traditional knowledge and behaviour of her parents because culturally she is different from her parents.

Social Reality in the Eye of the Beholder

(This is an edited version of the initial post, as requested by the blog moderator/course coordinator).I was honoured to be given the opportunity to interview Safwa, who works for an Islamic College in Brisbane, to gain more insight into the experience of an Australian-Muslim. Safwa has not been a Muslim all her life, but has been a Muslim convert for over 19 years. She was first introduced to Islam by her husband who is Fiji Indian. She accepted Islam on the grounds that her partner would not marry her otherwise. Since then, she has studied Islam and has raised her children accordingly. Safwa and her family have been in Australia for more than 19 years. Safwa believes she and her family “have all blended in with the Western Society.”

Born in the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Musadiq is a 22year old university student of Tanzanian descent. He currently lives inBrisbane, Australia under a student visa while also working part-timeat a McDonald's. Besides one brother who lives in Sydney, the rest ofMusadiq's family lives back in Dubai. Musadiq first moved to Australiaat the age of 21 to join his girlfriend who had also moved to Australiafrom Dubai. For two years now he has kept in touch with his familythrough the internet and by telephone, while also traveling back toDubai once or twice a year when possible.

Mufti Ahmed

The Muslims man that I interview, who I will from here on refer to as Ahmed, is one of the seven Muftis of Australia. Being that Ahmed was a national leader in the Muslim community I wanted to ask him questions not just relating to his personal experience, but what was the experience of the Muslim community as a whole. Ahmed is not an Australian born Muslim; he grew up in Pakistan. I asked him what the difference was, in his experience, living in Pakistan and in Australia. He said a key difference was the political stability in Australia which was not present in Pakistan which created a very unstable atmosphere throughout Pakistan’s society.

Interview with Ahmed

With the aim of seeking to understand the experience of ‘being’ a Muslim in Australia, I interviewed Ahmed (whose name has been changed for the protection of his identity), a Pakistani Post Doctorate Fellow at the University of Queensland.

Born and raised in a Muslim family in Pakistan, Ahmad has lived in Australia for less than one year. His experience of being a Muslim in Australia has been resoundingly positive; neither he, nor any of his friends have felt discriminated against, marginalised or religiously taunted in Australia for being Muslim. Based on his experience, he believes that Australians are “quite accommodative” and does not believe them to “hostile” to Muslim people. However, he does recognise that there is greater understanding of Islam among educated non-Muslim Australians.

Being Muslim in Australia Today

For the purpose of this essay, the interviewee goes by the name of Marina.

Over the years, Muslim settlement in Australia has grown steadily. They come from most parts of the world; some being from Lebanon, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh, just to name a few.

I thought it would be interesting however, to learn about the experiences and sentiments of an Australian-born Muslim, someone who, having been born into a Western culture, has to fuse his/her religious traditions, beliefs and cultures while growing up here.

Interview

The interviewee questioned for this blog is a tutor at UQ who is on a scholarship from Malaysia, completing his PhD in communication studies. For the purpose of this analysis, he will be known as Ahmed. He has been living in Australia since July of 2006 and has a great love for Brisbane. Brought up in Malaysia among a strictly Muslim family, Ahmed has continued to follow this path, while simultaneously embracing Australian culture.

Bint's Story

For the average teen, the transition to adulthood is difficult and often perplexing. Forging a unique identity normally requires a struggle between traditional family ideals, and the desire to be accepted by peers. This is a challenge well-understood by seventeen year-old Bint. A first generation Australian-Muslim, Bint struggles to unite the values of her South Asian-born family, with the values promoted by popular Australian culture.

Interview with an Imam

I count myself lucky enough to have recently had the chance to interview a very distinguished Muslim, one who is both an Imam in the local Brisbane community and a leader in multiple areas of the wider Islamic community of Australia. For the sake of anonymity he will be referred as simply 'Imam' or 'the Imam'.

When I presented the opening question for the interview - What does it mean for you to 'be' a Muslim in Australia today?

Interview

Ahmad is a native 19 year old Australian going to university. His parents immigrated to Australia 30 years ago and has a good amount of extended family in Australia as well. He grew up going to a public school in a district where there were not a lot of Muslims so the friends he grew up with in his neighborhood and classes did not share his religious beliefs. His exposure to Islam came in the form of going weekly to the mosque with his parents.

Nada Ibrahim - Being Muslim In Australia Today - By Amy Simmons

For Griffith University PhD student Nada Ibrahim, identity is the biggest issue facing Muslims in Australia today. Nada was born in Kenya, raised in various countries around the world, including Egypt, India and Fiji, completed her undergraduate studies in Malaysia and has lived in Australia for the last 20 years. “First and foremost I consider myself a Muslim because my strongest attachment is to my faith… but I also consider myself Australian, Egyptian, Indian and Kenyan because all of these identities form who I am,” she explained.

Nada Ibrahim - Video - By Amy Simmons

This video interview with Nada Ibrahim was conducted in the prayer room at Griffith University, Mt Gravatt campus, on 17 October 2008. The interview is on being Muslim in Australia today and includes Nada's comments on the events of September 11, wearing the headscarf, media portrayal of the Muslim community, and more.

Nada Ibrahim - Photos - By Amy Simmons

Nada Ibrahim - Photos - By Amy Simmons

Islam in Australia

I caught up with Ahmad for a beer after work in the Brisbane CBD.   Ahmad is a second generation Australian with Bangladeshi heritage, and is currently working for a Barrister dealing with immigration, administrative and constitutional law cases.  While he is evidently a very secular Muslim, he made it clear from the beginning that he believes in Allah and his identity as a Muslim is very important to him.  However, he expresses his faith in a very personal, rather than a ritualistic way.  This, he feels, is typical of Muslims from his generation and cultural background.

Islam in Australia from Adam's perspective

All the names in this interview have been changed.

When I talked to Adam, he and some other people had arrived early to set the mosque up for Khutbah, the Friday formal preaching session. I talked to Adam at first but some of his friends, the other people setting up, sat down and also contributed at various points. However, this section is only Adam, and a small section where a friend agreed and elaborated on a point Adam made. This isn’t everything, there is quite a lot of stuff that other people contributed which I will post later when I edit it a bit. Thank you everyone for your time.

"Being Muslim" in Australia Today

Melbourne is a kaleidescope of faiths, cultures, languages, and ethnicity, and Islam is well on its way to becoming the majority of the minority, so to speak. This short report will deal with a Muslim living in Melbourne, and his views on what it means to be a Muslim in Australia. Combined with the case study will be a number of articles, including Riaz Hassan's on levels of religious piety, and also two others which deal with the issues of terrorism and women.