Senior Australian Muslims to Visit RI

Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Bill Farmer, said a visit to Indonesia next week by a delegation of Australian Muslim community leaders would help to strengthen mutual understanding and the links among faith leaders of both countries.

The delegation would visit Jakarta and West Java from 28 October to 2 November, following a five-day visit to Malaysia, with the aim of “promoting understanding, tolerance and cooperation”.

Farmer said the visit, initiated by the Australian Government, represented a great opportunity for senior Australian Muslims to engage their counterparts in Indonesia on a range of important issues affecting people in both countries.

He said the visit would also help promote messages of cross-cultural understanding, with the delegates keen to discuss their individual experiences as members of Australia’s highly diverse and expanding Muslim community.

“Islam in Australia is a dynamic, evolving story with a rich history, and one of which our country can be extremely proud,” Farmer said. “The more than 350,000 Australian Muslims, stemming from over 70 different national backgrounds – including Indonesia, have made an enormous contribution to the success of contemporary, multicultural Australia.”

Ambassador Farmer said he hoped the visit would also contribute to a better understanding in Australia of contemporary Indonesian society, and the role of Islam in particular. He believed the visit would serve to highlight the extent to which both Australia and Indonesia were “countries built on diversity”.

The delegation will visit urban and rural areas for dialogue with local education and religious leaders, academics, government officials and media representatives.

They were scheduled to meet the Minister for Religious Affairs, talk to teachers and students at pesantren in Banten and Tasikmalaya in West Java, participate in public discussions at Hamka University and the Centre for Dialogue and Cooperation among Civilisations (CDCC) in Jakarta, and attend Friday prayers at Istiqlal mosque.

Ambassador Farmer said the make-up of the delegation reflected the broad cultural diversity of Australia’s Muslim community, and comprised:

Dr Ameer Ali (Western Australia), an Australian of Sri Lankan descent who is a lecturer in Economics at Perth’s Murdoch University and a former President of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC);

Sheik Shafiq Khan (New South Wales), an Australian of Pakistani descent who is Chairman of the Australian Islamic Cultural Centre in Sydney;

Dr Amin Hady (New South Wales), an Australian of Indonesian descent who is Imam at the Zetland Mosque in Sydney, a member of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) and a PhD student at the University of New South Wales (UNSW);

Imam Sabri Samson (Tasmania), an Australian of Malaysian descent who is Chairman of the Islamic Council of Tasmania and Imam at the Hobart mosque;

Ms Jamilla Hussain (New South Wales), a lecturer in Law at Sydney’s University of Technology (UTS);

Ms Faiza El-Higzi (Queensland), Deputy Spokesperson of Queensland’s Muslim Community Reference Group;

Mr Tom Zreika (New South Wales), a Solicitor who is Director of Queen Street Chambers Pty Ltd, based in Sydney; and

Mr Ikebal Patel (Australian Capital Territory, ACT), an Australian of Fijian descent who is President of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) in Canberra.

The Ambassador said the visit also complemented the work of Indonesia and Australia in co-sponsoring regional interfaith fora, with meetings held in Yogyakarta, Cebu and Waitangi since 2004. The next regional interfaith dialogue will be held in Cambodia in 2008.

Local media organisations are welcome to participate in parts of the visit program, by arrangement with the Embassy.

Further information:
Steven Barraclough (First Secretary & Visit Liaison), mob 0811 993 328, ph 2550 5520