I am not terror.
I am a source of fear. I create terror. I advocate violence. I am not compatible with mainstream Australia.
I am also a law school graduate working to uphold justice in my State. I am the daughter of two doctors who, each day, work tirelessly to cure their patients. I am the sister of three young people who all desire to contribute to their community.
I am a Muslim immigrant.
Yet, I too was horrified by the incidents in France. I too condemned the cowardly attack in Orlando. I too prayed for the families affected by bombings in Brussels.
But my emotions, it would seem, are those of a second class citizen. My capacity as an individual capable of self-determination is not relevant in the eyes of Pauline Hanson who wonders if Islam “is a religion or a totalitarian political ideology.” My mere presence is enough to make Sonia Kruger fear for the safety of herself and her child. My arrival in Australia was a precursor to the destruction I will surely cause, says Andrew Bolt.
In the 2011 census, approximately 2.2% of the population, almost half a million people, identified as Muslim. The majority of these 500,000 people are good law abiding citizens who have a genuine commitment to Australia. The same can be said for the other 22.8 million people who live in Australia but are non-Muslim. On the whole, most of us value living in a democratic society where the rule of law is supreme.
Unfortunately for both demographics, Muslim and non-Muslim, not everyone is on the same bandwagon. Having been acquainted with the criminal justice system, I can resolutely say that crime knows no religion. The motivations of individuals are precisely that, individual. They are context specific. Usually, they are also unjustified and based on a distorted understanding of what was right and fair in the circumstances.