The Australian Federal Police have been forced to cancel their annual Eid dinner with Muslim leaders in Sydney. The function, planned for the end of Ramadan, came under pressure from a group called Concerned Muslims Australia.
In an online petition, the group called on imams and other Muslim representatives to boycott the dinner because of a “concerted and prolonged campaign of anti-Muslim hysteria” led by the Australian government. The petition said it was incredible “that the same agencies that harass, discriminate and target the Muslim community would expect it to break bread with them”.
With the memory of the 2014 Sydney police raids on 25 Muslim households in mind, Silma Ihram, a spokesperson for the Australian Muslim Women’s Association, explained to ABC News: “I can’t break fast with those who authorise flash bombs to be used against families”.
Signed by 840 people, the petition argues that the government is “attempting to create a false image of cooperation, harmony and trust which could not be further from the truth”.
Public relations events like this are an important exercise for the government and police. Every racially charged attack on civil liberties is defended under the excuse of engagement with “moderate Muslims”. Muslims have every right to interpret such moves as “adding insult to injury”.
There are conservatives within the Muslim community who prefer to conform, rather than confront the government’s attacks. Dr Jamal Rifi, who labelled those campaigning for a boycott of the AFP dinner as “keyboard warriors”, exemplifies this trend.
In September 2014, Rifi organised a large barbecue in western Sydney to pledge support for Australia’s national interests. In attendance was former immigration minister and overseer of Australia’s shameful refugee policy, Scott Morrison. Between photo opportunities, Morrison said of the organisers, “It’s in the national interest that they be affirmed in the leadership that they’re showing”.
After the AFP dinner was cancelled, Concerned Muslims Australia released a statement that said, in part: “The community has made abundantly clear to our leaders and representatives that such engagement is not acceptable to a large portion of the community they seek and claim to represent”.
