The Abbott government’s quest for authoritarian power is now corralling Muslims into a position where they must play the roles of both scapegoat and accomplice. In such a position, the Muslim community is saddled with a double burden. On the one hand, the community is placed in a condition of extended interrogation, in which it must go on the defensive and continuously justify its actions and its handling of ‘radical’ elements. On the other hand, it is pushed into a condition of social isolation, in which its inclination towards political action is more easily checked, and its dissenting and independent voices are either demonised as examples of radicalism and extensions of the ‘terrorist threat’, or brought into line by the more ‘moderate’ and pliable old guard.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Sep 2014 06:22:10 +0000