Targeted for their religious beliefs and often misrepresented in the mainstream media, Australian Muslims have felt under pressure. Today, a new Muslim comedy show, "Salam Café", is giving this minority a voice.
On a Wednesday night in Sydney’s Hills district, a group of friends is gathering in front of their TV set to watch "Salam Café": the first and only Muslim comedy show to be aired on national television in a Western country.
For many Australian Muslims, the show is a breath of fresh air, finally giving a voice to Muslim moderates. In recent years, relations between Australian Muslims and non-Muslims hardly have been harmonious. In December 2005, racist riots in Sydney’s south made headlines around the world. An incident on the beach triggered 5,000 people to take to the street to protest against the presence of Middle Eastern youths in their suburb.
More recently, the construction of an Islamic school on the outskirts of Sydney was violently opposed by sections of the local community. The council ended up rejecting the project, claiming it would disturb local traffic.
Professor Kevin Dunn, from the University of Western Sydney, says there’s been what he calls an accumulation of islamophobia in Australia, which is not unusual in Western countries, he adds.
Dunn recently conducted a survey to map out Australians attitudes towards Islam. He found about a third of Australians don’t know anything about Islam, and about half know only a little bit. Altogether, that’s 8 out of 10 Australians being in real ignorance about Islam.
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