A post in the Gamespot AU discussion board (http://au.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=26112818) prompted me to once and for all adress this growing issue. Is Islam completely understood in Australia? And who's responsibility is it to educate the general public about Islam and our beliefs?

As an Australian Muslim living in Brisbane I can say that I have not experienced any "Islamaphobia", however I am not an Australian Muslim woman, which brings me to the point that most Australians can only speculate as to the religous beliefs of others based wholly and soley on their appearance. I have heard countless stories in which Australian women have experienced the ugly side of modern post 9/11 ignorance. In some cases there has been name calling, in other more extreme cases some women have been threatened with rape! The reason?... they wear a head scarf that symbolises their faith.

My best friend Ryan however is a typical beach vollyballer with long hair, bronze skin, and is as Aussie as they come. He is of course born Australian and has reverted to Islam. No one could guess that he is Muslim, and that is due to the fact that apart form some subtle differences in behaviour ( eg we don't drink )we are all Australian. The point i am try to make is that without being "outwardly" Muslim, we are virtually indistinguisable from the rest to society.

Now let me just say, I love Australia and the people in it!

Let me also say,I live by Islam, but i also respect everyone elses faith.

In the above mentionedpost,"segregated Schools in Australia"the poster attempts to make the point that if Muslims were to have segregated Islamic schools in Australia, then Australians and Muslims would grow to hateeach other and there would be an increased chance of Terrorism! I say that is Bull! The foundation for the argument is that Muslims and Australians are different.... which we are not! So we don't drink, or eat pork... how does this make us so different? If asked, I think most Muslims would call themselves Australian Muslims. I would also like to point out that there is a line between relion and culture. You cannot compare the values of a culture to the values of a religion. When compared point to point, anyone that would care to educate themselves would find that the 3 major faiths Islam, Christianity, and Judaism havemuch in common.

Which brings me to myfinal point. Who's responsibility is it to change this way of thinking?

My first human response is "yours!, why shouldI make the effort to understand you if you cannotmake the effort to understand me?". But as I take a moment to contemplate thisdeeper, I realize that it is "our" resonsibility to lift this stigma. Since Adam (Peace be upon him) every prophet that was sent by God had a message. Essentialy that message was the same thoughout time. We either chose to take heed or not. That message wascontinued wether or not people listened, and no matterhow hard it became to deliver that Message. We now come to a time in which we as Australian Muslims need send our message of Islam ( Peace ) and become the true becons of our societies. It is easy to blame the uneducated for their mis formed opinions, however it is our responsibility to be the true examples of how a Muslim should act, look, and treat other religions.

Next time you face ignorance, try to educate that person instead of labelling them racist or whatever first springs to mind. If that person walks away from you thinking " he/she wasn't so bad" then that would be a good start.

If you are a non Muslim reading this, take a moment to google Islam, read a little about our faith, you will soon realise that we have more in common than you first thought.

Salams