But more than two months on, the promised Islamophobia equivalent hasn’t been appointed, leading to concern within some influential parts of the Islamic community.

The Australian National Imams Council’s Bilal Rauf has labelled the delay “very disappointing and concerning” and has called for urgent action.

“I think it needs to occur this month, in the matter of a week or two,” he said.

“Any longer than that, it almost does become farcical, and one begins to question: ‘what’s the point?’.”

As the weeks without an Islamophobia envoy roll on, he said there’s a growing sense of scepticism and disappointment within parts of the community.

“We’re hearing of wonderful progress being made and steps being taken by the anti-Semitism [envoy] engaging with different departments and organisations, and yet nothing has happened in the space of Islamophobia,” Mr Rauf said.

“Some of the questions that we are getting on the ground are: Is this legitimate? Is there a real intent, or is this just a show?”

Candidates speak out

Chief executive of the Islamic College of Brisbane, Ali Kadri, said he was approached by the government in relation to the Islamophobia envoy position “about a month” ago.

He decided against taking the full-time role due to his current responsibilities, but said he had a candid conversation with Multicultural Affairs Minister Tony Burke.

“He asked me for my opinion and my opinion was, and it still remains, that this can’t be seen as some bureaucratic government role,” he said.

“If anyone who takes that position does not engage at the grassroots with the wider community and within Muslim community, then that position will not be effective in countering Islamophobia.”

Mr Kadri expressed disappointment that the appointment process had taken so long and said it should be finalised “as soon as possible”, but added that finding the right candidate would not be easy for the federal government.

“The anti-Semitism envoy was appointed quite quickly and swiftly,” he said. “The Muslim community is a lot more complex.”

Western Sydney general practitioner Jamal Rifi put his name forward for the role and met with government representatives, but pulled out of the running due to a change in circumstances.

Dr Rifi isn’t confident one person will be able to win the support of Australia’s large and diverse Muslim community but he’s pleased the position is being created.

“The impact is not going to come from the envoy himself or herself. It’s going to come from the community,” he said.

“But the envoy will have a role to play, providing facts and statistics, so the community and the government can respond in their own specific way.”

With the issues of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism highlighted in the wake of the conflict in Gaza, Dr Rifi said it was right for there to be allocated positions to counter their rise.

“It’s proper for the government to quantify it, study it, analyse it, and find ways to combat it, because [we] will be a better nation for doing so.”

‘Soon’, ‘shortly’, ‘imminent’ — but when?

In early July, the Albanese government said the appointment of the Islamophobia envoy would be announced “shortly”.

Since then variations of that word have been used to signal an announcement was imminent, but no specific time frame has been set.

Meanwhile, the anti-Semitism envoy’s work is underway. On Tuesday afternoon, Ms. Segal appeared before a Senate committee to call for a judicial inquiry into anti-Semitism at Australian universities.

She told the inquiry that anti-Semitism was “embedded” in campuses and that it was her view that this was not fully understood by management.

“They do not appreciate the extent of the difficulty, they don’t appreciate the extent of the embedded anti-Semitism,” she said.

Mr Rauf said the appointment of an Islamophobia envoy needed to be prioritised by the government.

“It is absolutely critical and urgent that steps are taken very soon to appoint someone, in circumstances where this was announced months ago, and the anti-Semitism envoy is well underway and established and already doing things,” he said.

When asked if a shortlist had been finalised and when an appointment would be made, a spokesperson for Tony Burke said “consultation on the appointment continues”.

“The rise of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism is of grave concern to this government,” the statement read.

Source: ABC News

The organizations say: “the recent surge in Extreme Right-Wing violence, driven by extremist figures led by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as ‘Tommy Robinson’… has created a climate of terror for ethnic minorities and Muslims across the country.”

They say that law enforcement and intelligence agencies have failed to contain this growing threat so they have come together to request that the EDL is proscribed as a terrorist organization.

The Muslim, Black and Asian legal organizations are: Association of Muslim Lawyers, Society of Black Lawyers, Black Lives Matter, Legal Action for Peace, Society of Asian Lawyers, Federation of Redbridge Muslim Organizations, Aziz Foundation, Restless Beings, Muslim Women of Merton, Finsbury Park Mosque, Muslim Public Affairs Committee, Muslim Professionals Forum, Balham Mosque & Tooting Islamic Centre, Muslim Association of Britain and Parents United.

Their letter states: “Yaxley-Lennon has been inciting his followers by fueling hatred towards Muslims and ethnic minorities including refugees. On 1^st June, he launched his documentary ‘Lawfare’ which covers his warped perception that there is a ‘two-tier policing’ system of the pro-Palestinian protests as opposed to those that were against the pro-Palestinian protests in support of Israel’s ‘plausible genocide’ of the Palestinians…

“Since his first protest on 1st June, Yaxley-Lennon has increased his rhetoric by inciting his followers to commit violence against Muslims, refugees and ultimately people of color. You can see that he has continued to repeat his claims of ‘two-tier policing’ which is now being extended to extremely dangerous and sinister claims of a ‘two-tier government.’ At the time of writing, Yaxley-Lennon continues to publish conspiracy theories and false narratives.

“We consider that Yaxley-Lennon has been inciting terrorism via his tweets to large audiences. In a video on 4th August, he said in anger ‘Men will rise up, they were always going to rise up, they have to rise up to defend their families.’ A hotel, housing asylum seekers, was set on fire by his supporters on 4th August in Tamworth placing their lives and hotel staff at risk…

“In light of Yaxley-Lennon’s conduct including incitement and the continued association and presence of former EDL members at his protests, it is our view that EDL meets the statutory test to proscribe EDL in order to protect the public from its members…

“We cannot in good conscience risk our lives or the lives of our families by returning to normality until the EDL is proscribed. The government’s responsibility to protect its citizens is paramount, and we urge you to act swiftly and decisively to restore peace and security. We remain open to dialogue and are ready to assist in any way possible to ensure the safety of all citizens and refugees in this country.”

English Defence League (EDL)

Under the Terrorism Act 2000, the Home Secretary may proscribe an organization if they believe it is concerned with terrorism, and it is proportionate to do so.

Under the Act, terrorism means the use or threat of action which involves serious violence against a person, serious damage to property, endangers a person’s life or creates a risk to life, to influence the government or intimidate the public.

It must also be carried out with the aim to advance a political, religious, racial or ideological cause.

The EDL was founded in 2009 and experienced its heyday in 2011.

Tommy Robinson – a former member of the BNP who had a criminal conviction for assault – became the group’s de facto leader shortly after it was formed.

Ideologically, it rejected the idea that Muslims can truly be English, while promoting Islam as a threat to European values and blaming a perceived decline in “English culture” on high immigration rates.

The profile of the EDL rose dramatically between 2010 and 2013, but soon began to lose momentum – partly due to in-fighting among the group’s different factions.

The group was then revealed to have links to Norwegian far-right activist Anders Behring Breivik, the perpetrator of a series of bombing and shooting attacks in July 2011 that killed 77 people.

Robinson left the organization in 2013, amid fears he could not control the group’s more violent followers.

Source: 5pillarsuk.com