Greater engagement with diverse Muslim communities, including the “balanced” teaching of Middle East politics in schools, is needed to counter the threat of violent extremism, a report by a leading thinktank has concluded.
The report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (Aspi) found that the slick online propaganda machine created by Islamic State had experienced considerable success in recruiting younger fighters, and that government attempts to counter extremism online had so far fallen short.
It noted that younger Muslims mistrusted the government.
“The Muslim community must be part of a coherent national response to terrorism,” the report said. “Australia as a whole must find a way to work with Australian Muslims that’s creative and respectful and doesn’t blame the community for the behaviour of a tiny group.
“Any engagement program needs to operate on the basis that there is no single Muslim community in Australia,” the report said. Government policy needed to take that diversity into account.
“A key task will be to build trust within this group, which will happen only after a sustained effort to discuss, listen and collaborate,” it said.
The executive director of Aspi, Peter Jennings, told ABC radio that political leaders needed to get past simplistic phrases such as “Team Australia”.
“That didn’t go down terribly well,” Jennings said. “I recognise the prime minister’s intent but I think in some ways what’s needed is a deeper conversation with those communities in order to bring them into a shared enterprise which is where, frankly, we’re not right now.”
The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, said Muslim Australians should not be “demonised”.
“I’ve had many great meetings with Australian Muslim leaders and many members of the Australian Muslim community. They love our country as much as all other Australians,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “I think what is really necessary is that we say to all Australians – Muslim, Christian or of any faith – you are a welcome member of our society.”
The report recommended teaching “balanced” Middle Eastern history and geopolitics in schools as a way of countering “radical online material”.
“There’s surely got to be some room within our curriculum where we can have an intelligent and structured conversation with young people about what’s going on in the Middle East so that they’re not just leaving it to the internet to find that sort of stuff out,” Jennings said.
The institute argued that Australians needed greater information from political leaders on why troops were being sent abroad to fight, and how security agencies were working to counter the threat of terrorism.
The report recommended the publication of a yearly update on the use of counter-terrorism powers, including passport cancellations, control orders, notification warrants, international activities, police and military operations and financial impacts.
Having such information out in the open would “build confidence” in security agencies, the report said. It called the extension of powers to security agencies through new legislation “necessary and proportional”.
Controversial measures to automatically strip dual citizens accused of terrorism offences of their Australian citizenship were introduced into parliament last week. The committee scrutinising the bill is due to report in late August.
The report examined in detail the Australian citizens known to have travelled to the Middle East to fight with Isis.
Jennings told Sky News on Tuesday that 60% were dual nationals, and 40% were Australian-born with sole citizenship.
He noted that the people likely to be radicalised by Isis were younger, and more culturally and ethnically diverse than in the past.
“There are some quite significant changes from the earlier generation, and again this has to be taken into account when we think about strategies to deal with these people,” Jennings said.
The Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, said the government was taking the wrong approach on national security.
“We think this investment in prosecuting people once a crime has been committed, at the expense of not focusing on prevention, doesn’t make us safer,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “In fact, the language the government is using is fuelling fear and anxiety. That’s bad for progress on this issue.”
