If Sherene Hassan is any indication, leadership of Muslims, in Victoria at least, is in good hands. Vice-president of the Islamic Council of Victoria, Hassan is articulate, a good communicator, and committed to open and reasonable dialogue with the broader community.
Still, there are some in the community who don't want to hear what she has to say. She was recently snubbed in a media forum in a very demeaning way (more on that later).
Eureka Street's interview with Hassan is sponsored by the Asia-Pacific Centre for Inter-Religious Dialogue at the Australian Catholic University, and was recorded at the Common Dreams Conference for religious progressives held at Melbourne's St Kilda Town Hall in April 2010.
In the interview, Hassan talks about the tragedy of 9/11 and how it prompted her to take on a leadership role in the Muslim community, about some of the problems facing Muslims in the West and how they might be overcome, and possibilities for change and adaptation in Islamic theology. (Continues below)
This mother of four and former chemistry and physics teacher, was enticed to run for election to the board of the Islamic Council of Victoria by her friend and mentor, Waleed Ali. She quickly made her mark on the Council, and is now one of its official spokespeople.
It was in this capacity that on the morning of Mother's Day this year she was invited to take part by telephone in a radio forum on Melbourne's 3AW. The program's presenter, Darren James, and two panelists in the studio, Nick McCallum and John-Michael Howson were discussing a provocative opinion piece called 'Ban the Burqa' by conservative Liberal Senator, Cory Bernardi.
In his piece, the Senator described the full body covering (rarely, if ever, seen in this country) as 'un-Australian', and representative of 'the repressive domination of men over women, which has no place in our society'. Howson, and the majority of callers to the program, agreed, while McCallum countered that 'it's un-Australian to dictate to people what they wear and what they must think ... and that is what you're trying to do.'
Hassan was called by 3AW to take part in the program, and was put on hold. After 20 minutes waiting to contribute to the debate, according to a report on the incident in the ABC's Media Watch, she was told by the 3AW producer, 'actually John-Michael is refusing to speak to you and does