Muslims Call for Funding, Action to Fight Hate in Australia
The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils said the federal government's commitment to take action on 35 of 54 recommendations outlined in special envoy Aftab Malik's report recognised anti-Muslim hate as a serious national problem.
But the group, the nation's peak body for Muslims, said the response fell short in key areas and called for further detail on how leaders planned to respond to all of the special envoy to combat Islamophobia's recommendations.
The response amounted to a limited number of new commitments alongside a grab-bag of expansions to existing programs and work already being undertaken by the envoy's office, the federation said.
President of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils Rateb Jneid calls for an independent review of counter-terrorism laws, along with a commission of inquiry into Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab racism, went unanswered 10 months after the report was handed to the government.
The government has committed to reviewing the Australian school curriculum to identify opportunities to strengthen understanding of all forms of hatred.
