Coob tus poj niam Muslim ntawm Australia xav tias ntshe yuav dhia tsis dhau ntawm cov xwm txheej Islamophobia

Most targets of Islamophobia in Australia are women and girls, while most perpetrators are non-Muslim men. Credit: Getty/SBS

SBS Hmong

View Podcast Series

Follow and Subscribe

Download the SBS Audio appAvailable on iOS and Android

"Yeej muaj tej xwm txheej Islamophobia (cov xwm txheej raug neeg ntshai, ntxub thiab faib cais vim yus yog ib tug neeg ntseeg kev ntseeg Islam) no tshwm sim ntau txheeb zaug ... yog tham txog tej xwm txheej no rau tej poj niam Muslim ua ntoo phuam khwb phuam lawm, ces lawv mloog tau tias yog yus yog ib tug neeg Muslim ntawm teb chaws Australia no ces ntshe yus yeej yuav raug tej xem txheej no xwb.''

Mloog tau tej zaj lus thiab lwm yam xov xwm ua lus Hmoob tau ntawm SBS Hmong.

Dr Nora Amath ces yog tus Executive Director ntawm lub koom haum Islamophobia Register tau hais tias pom muaj tej xwm txheej Islamophobia no ''ntau tshaj plaws'' tuaj ntxiv lawm txij li thaum tau muaj tej xwm txheej tim 7 lub 10 hli ntuj 2023 (uas Hamas tua Israel).

Nws tau hais tias tej poj niam thiab tej me nyuam ntxhais yog cov raug lwm tus tsim tej xwm txheej no ntau tshaj plaws txog 75 feem pua.

Yog ib co xwm txheej uas muaj rau tej poj niam xwb.

Dr Amath tau hais tias tej xwm txheej tsis sib haum xeev rau tej laj fai kum xeeb ntawm ib cheeb tsam twg yog cov ua rau muaj tej xwm txheej Islamophobia ntawm teb chaws Australia, tab sis tej ntawd tsis yog tib co ua rau muaj tej xwm txheej no nkaus xwb thiab.

"Tej lus tawm tswv yim laj fai kum xeeb yog tej yam tseem ceeb heev uas yuav ua rau seb peb pom tias yuav muaj tej neeg qhia rau peb tias muaj tej xwm txheej no ntau tuaj ntxiv los yog tsawg tuaj ntxiv xwb."

In this episode of Understanding Hate, we look at Islamophobia in Australia today.

Mloog tau xov xwm tshiab ntawm SBS Hmong, download SBS Adio app thiab caum SBS Hmong Facebook page.

Transcript

spk_0

SBS acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia.

Joumana Nasour Tanana

I was walking on the beach and suddenly a man on the bike, he started swearing at me and he started to um tell me, go back to your country. He was very aggressive.

Nic

From SBS examines, I'm Nic Zoumboulis. In this episode of Understanding Hate, we're looking at Islamophobia in Australia today.

Joumana Nasour Tanana

I was preparing myself, if it happens again to me, what should I do and what action I should take.

Nic

Joumana Nasour Tanana is a Muslim woman living in Western Sydney. She's called Australia home for the past 35 years. Joumana is visibly Muslim. She wears a hijab. She says she's always felt free from discrimination. That was until the October 7th attacks in 2023.

Joumana Nasour Tanana

Every time something happened under the Islamic title, they blame us here. And we get, we start to get abused again. Australia is a beautiful country. There are lots of people, they are beautiful, nice, and understanding. But on the other side, you have people, and they just listen to what they see on the media, and they get affected straight away instead of looking for the real story.

Nic

After the incident, Joumana spoke with the Islamophobia Register. It's an organisation that provides a secure platform for people to report any form of Islamophobia.

Nora Amath

Islamophobia is a form of prejudice that is defined by distress, hostility, or hatred towards Muslims and those perceived as Muslims. It is Muslim women and girls were disproportionately targeted. They constituted about 75% of victims overall. For many Muslim females who wear the headscarf, they feel that an incident of Islamophobia is what it means to be a Muslim here in Australia.

Nic

That's the executive director of the register, Dr Nora Amath. She confirmed there was a dramatic surge in Islamophobic incidents following October 7th in 2023.

Nora Amath

We saw an increase of 1,300%. We had about 130 cases in three weeks.

Nic

Nora says political leaders and the media can play a significant role in stoking or combating Islamophobia.

Nora Amath

Political rhetoric is very important to whether we see a rise or decrease in incidents reported to us.

Nic

Shereen Hassan is the director of education and community engagement at the Islamic Museum of Australia. She says the impact of Islamophobia can be devastating.

Shereen Hassan

Sadly, I've experienced my fair share of Islamophobia, often in the form of hate mail. I've had death threats sent to my home address. That's all been very confronting.

Nic

Shereen works to dispel misconceptions that may be fueling Islamophobia. She says a lack of information or exposure to a one-sided story can leave people fearful of Muslims.

Shereen Hassan

There was a 91 year old woman who said to me, for years I have felt crippled with fear towards Islam and Muslims, and you are the first Muslim I've ever spoken to. And just coming here and seeing all this beautiful art and and meeting Muslims, all that fear has just dissipated. People tend to fear the unknown, and when they're given an opportunity to um experience Islam through art and and through history, it's life changing.

Nic

In Adelaide, Imam Kamran Tahir says Islamophobic incidents have had a negative ripple effect on some people within his community.

Imam Kamran Tahir

Some people are really isolating, not going out in public out of fear of Islamophobia or attacks,

Nic

He says education and bystander intervention are essential pathways to curbing Islamophobia.

Imam Kamran Tahir

If you are taking a stand up against something which is unjust, ultimately you're putting a full stop there and you're saying that this is not acceptable within the society that we live in, and we shouldn't let a small minority destroy such a beautiful place by not taking a stand against that.

Nic

Dr Nora Amath says in their latest report, the Islamophobia Register found there was a decrease in bystander intervention and reporting. She agrees that bystander intervention is crucial to countering Islamophobia.

Nora Amath

If it is safe for you to do so, then clearly oppose the behaviour. Sometimes that's all it takes. If somebody say that's not OK or please stop, what you're doing is wrong. If we aspire to be a country where we're all safe, then we all have this collective responsibility to be compassionate to one another.

Nic

This episode was produced and presented by Nic Zoumboulis. To find out more, visit SBS.com.au/SBSexamines.

END OF TRANSCRIPT

At the Asian Australian Leadership awards (SBS).jpg

Tej teeb meem ua rau neeg Asian-Australian tsis muaj peev xwm ua tus coj

_HMONG NEWSFLASH BSP IMAGE ASSET 16x9.png

Weekly news: Thawj pwm tsav koom rooj sab laj G20 ntawm South Africa

Australia - Bungle Bungles - Eco Tourism

Txij Mabo txog Australia tiam tshiab yeej tseem muaj tej dab neeg ua ntuv zus txog cov native title

Thursday news: Tsoom fwv Albanese tsis pab nyiaj rau zej tsoom tej tsev kho mob li cog lus tseg

Coob tus poj niam Muslim ntawm Australia xav tias ntshe yuav dhia tsis dhau ntawm cov xwm txheej Islamophobia

SBS Hmong

Follow and Subscribe

Latest podcast episodes