Last night, a national Australian television program looked at the issue of the
growing lack of
tolerance towards Muslims in some areas in and near our major cities, and
particularly explored the
feelings of alienation of Muslim youth and the possible consequences. Many of the
young men,
especially, were beginning to feel excluded from society despite being born here
and were expressing
feelings of anger and frustration. According to an expert in the psychology of
terrorism, such
feelings are just ripe for having more extreme thoughts, and then deeds, implanted.
Therefore, I would see that having resources about their religion, beliefs and
traditions, as well
as those of other non-Christian and Christian religions, would be just one small
way of
demonstrating that we accept and value them as community members. Such resources
would also help
those from different religions have access to different points of view. In primary
school, special
days could be highlighted in a similar way to more traditional times like Easter
while more formal
studies could be undertaken as the children get older.
What was scary about .last night's program was that the lack of understanding and
tolerance came
from the "more mature" sector, admittedly a group who felt their lifestyle was
about to be changed
because of plans to build a large Islamic school in their area. However, it does
seem that if we
are to achieve harmony between all the groups that make up a community, we need to
start with the
children, and that means having the resources to teach them.
Sadly, though, someone who questions the right/need to have 200s in the library is
probably not
going to listen to logical and rational argument.
Barbara
Barbara Braxton
Teacher Librarian
COOMA NSW 2630
AUSTRALIA
E. barbara.288@bigpond.com
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