Violence is a commonly misunderstood phenomenon. It is rarely discussed in communities or societies .Other than the fact that it is occurring on a daily basis as seen in the news. Possibly many people have become de-sensitized to it because it has become an integral part of existence. The violence that we observe in nature […]

By Jamal A. Badawi The status of women in society is neither a new issue nor is it a fully settled one. The position of Islam on this issue has been among the subjects presented to the Western reader with the least objectivity. In the midst of the darkness that engulfed the world, the divine […]

In the past 13 years Australians have watched from the sidelines some of the world’s most bizarre events unfold. In New York, at our doorstep in Jakarta and Bali, in the Middle East, in Madrid, Istanbul, London and most recently Boston. This global trend has forced many Western nations such as Australia to rethink their […]

Mahmoud and Michael Once there were two brothers who were identical twins. They lived with their family in  Sydney’s south west. The family migrated to Australia in 1975 after the war in Lebanon and the twins were born in Bankstown Hospital. Mahmoud and Michael were in their third year at university and they were both […]

Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is about Freedom of Religion and Belief The Australian Muslim community is diverse and disparate. There are multifarious groups stemming from different schools of thought and ethnicities. There are many people who come to Australia with different experiences and issues about freedom of belief and human […]

Muslim communities in Australia and the impact of media coverage The reporting of Islam is often “bipolar and propaganda driven”, what Lynch and McGoldrick term as War Journalism. The media create a simple picture of “Us versus Them”, setting up two entities and usually presenting a shallow analysis of the conflict. However, would the effect […]