Towards a Cohesive Australia, Speech by Mufti Alhilali

Towards a cohesive Australia

Brothers and sister, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good evening and Peace be with you.

Permit me to address you as an old man who is trying to make up for his poor English with a heart that overflows with faith in and love and respect for others. I want my words to flow my heart to yours.

Ladies and gentlemen,

There is a principle that all rational beings celebrate:

Harmonious diversity is one of the secrets of beauty.

Just look at any flower garden or any bouquet of flowers, their beauty is in the combination of different colours and different types of flowers. It is similar with us, the secret of our beauty as a human race is to be found in our diversity of colours and voices. Likewise, the appeal of music lies in its reliance on the seven different notes: Do Re Mi, Fa So La Ti.

Allah created humanity and distinguished it over all created beings by giving it reason, through this reason, we can construct, beautify and ornament this world. It is through this reason that we can understand and believe in one another. It is through reason that we see that the beautiful nation we share was not created to be the exclusive property of any individual, rather, it is for cohabitation with others whom we must offer love, support and cooperation.

We must look at our neighbours like our own brothers and at our nation as the home that we all share, we can be successful when our hearts are compassionate towards one another and we cooperate with our skills, this will transform this beautiful home, this beautiful nation into a paradise. However, if there is an escalation of clashes, enmity and isolation, this home will feel straitened and the brothers will feel miserable and tired.

Islam presents the comprehensive conclusion of the Divine revelations from God Almighty stressing the importance of harmony amongst our diverse humanity.

1 – No Muslim is a true Muslim until he or she believes in all the prophets and messengers of God and in all the books sent by God.

2 – The Muslim must respect the belief system of others, The Holy Qur`an states:
a – Let there be no compulsion in religion.
b – Say: The truth is from your Lord, whoever wishes, let him believe and whoever wishes, let him disbelieve.
3 – The mercy and grace of God only come to those who are merciful and gracious towards others. Hadith: Those who are merciful will find mercy with Allah. And, the one who does not show mercy will not receive mercy.
4 – The love of God will be granted to those who love others.
5 – A person’s status with God depends on the goodness that this person offers to fellow human beings. God loves us all, He does not prefer any race over another.

Every Australian who is fortunate to live in this beautiful nation must understand the following:

1 – All Australians go back to one father, this is Adam and one mother, this is Eve. We all have the same colour blood and we all have the same limbs.
2 – Australia can grow and rejoice and become a paradise through love and understanding.
3 – Australia is the home that provides us shelter and protection, its security is the responsibility of each and every one of us.
4 – Australians are like a football team, we can only win through cooperation and support of one another.
5 – As Australians, we are all traveling on the same boat, if the boat is safe, we are all safe, if she is threatened, we all threatened.
6 – Every Australian who is proud of his or her faith can confirm and show the nature of the teachings and values of this faith through the benefit and constructive effort that he or she will offer to their society.

The faith of Islam in constructive cohesion was evident from the onset, Islam was quick to put an end to any notion of superiority based on colour, race or wealth. The famous words of the messenger Muhammad peace and blessings upon him are in the heart of every Muslim: No Arab is superior to a non Arab, nor is white over black except through piety. Islam transformed races into brothers and made all people equal with respect to their rights and duties.

This harmony did not stop with humans, it in fact extends to all creatures that share this world with us, this includes the animal kingdom, vegetation and the environment in general. Islam has provided us with teachings that protect the environment, teachings that guarantee the rights and comfort of not only people, but also of animals and even the rights of trees, emphasizing their importance, something that we cannot live without.

In conclusion, I would like to emphasise that Australian society is beautified through our diversity, this diversity allows the reaslisation of the most ambitious constructive goals because it is a microcosm of the whole world in which we live. This society is strengthened through our cohesion and will greatly progress through mutual cooperation.

We should all work together to build a beautiful, strong and free Australia, to make it a nation whose luminance will brighten the whole world.
Good evening ladies and gentlemen