Religion & Society

In this edition of The Interview, Fair Observer talks to Peter Riddell , vice-principal at the Melbourne School of Theology in Australia. The interview was conducted at the end of 2018 via a written transcript, which has been edited for clarity. Kourosh Ziabari: How serious is Islamophobia in the modern world? What are the root causes of growing prejudice and bias against Muslims in the West? Peter Riddell: Any discussion about prejudice should aim to reduce or, ideally, eliminate it. In that context, prejudice by one community toward another needs also to take account of similar prejudice in the opposite direction. So to discuss Islamophobia, namely prejudice against Muslims in the West, without also considering “Westophobia,” or prejudice against Westerners by Muslims, is like looking at a painting and deliberately covering one eye. There are many causes of mutual prejudice between Muslims and Westerners. History is a factor. Simply put, wars between Christian Europeans and M...

On 17 April Indonesia underwent a uniquely complex democratic process, when around 190 million citizens cast their votes in national elections at both presidential and legislative levels of government. The presidential election was a repeat of the 2014 race for the presidency. The incumbent, Joko Widodo (known as Jokowi), was standing against a former army general Prabowo Subianto. Each was supported by a coalition of political parties represented in the national parliament. Jokowi’s support came from both nationalist and moderate Muslim parties, the largest party being the multi-religious Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) which is led by Indonesia’s first female President Megawati Sukarnoputeri, who held office from 2001-2004. Prabowo , as the former general is commonly known, was supported in his bid for the presidency by a coalition of activist Islamic parties, as well as more notorious community groups such as the Islamic Defenders Front. During the six-...

Terrorism takes diverse forms and attracts different levels of attention. The New Zealand city of Christchurch is reeling from an attack on Muslims by what appears to be a white supremacist. The death toll currently stands at 50, with dozens of injured being treated in hospital. The targets were innocent Muslims taking part in Friday worship at two mosques in Christchurch, who were mown down by a man with semiautomatic weapons and evidently supported by certain accomplices. The international news agencies have been hot with reports of the Christchurch attacks. Britain’s Sky News and BBC World are covering the situation in detail, as are the American chains CNN, CNBC and Fox News. Al-Jazeera from Qatar is reporting in similar vein, interviewing witnesses, drawing on the perspectives of commentators worldwide, broadcasting certain images of ambulances rushing victims to hospitals, giving a voice to the New Zealand Prime Minister and police authorities, and a host of other details of ...

Australia conjures up images of sun, beaches and a relaxed lifestyle. As with most stereotypes, there is a kernel of truth to such perceptions. For example, in the annual list of the world’s most liveable cities produced by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Melbourne gained first place for seven years in a row between 2011 to 2017. This year, Melbourne came second, with Sydney and Adelaide also placed in the top ten. In this context, considerations of terrorism seem somewhat anachronistic. However, Australia is steadily increasing its prominence in another list: that of targets for Islamist-inspired terror plots. In November, images went global of a lone terrorist attacking police and bystanders with a knife. Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, a Somali born immigrant to Australia, was shot dead by police after killing one 70-year-old civilian and wounding several others, as well as trying to blow up his car filled with gas canisters in Melbourne’s central business district while reported...