CALLS by some Australian politicians to ban the Islamic burka in Australia were off the mark, long-time media commentator, church leader and former politician Gordon Moyes said in Warrnambool on the weekend.
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He said it was up to the general community to put aside racism and try to ease rising inter-cultural tensions.
"These issues shouldn't be resolved by a parliament and by law, but they should be resolved by people understanding why it is that many people are affronted by some religious dress and behaviour," he told The Standard.
The Reverend Dr Moyes, who was in Warrnambool as keynote speaker for 150th anniversary celebrations of the local Baptist Church, said threats by extremists to behead some Australian citizens would bring the worst scenario possible for inter-religious affairs.
His comments came as Palmer United Party's Senator Jacqui Lambie yesterday stood by her controversial use of the photo of a murdered, veiled Afghan policewoman as part of a campaign against burkas and Sharia law in Australia.
Mr Moyes challenged Christian communities to organise forums for all religious groups to look at better understanding rather than divisions.
"I'm not an Islam basher and for 11 years in parliament I sought to build bridges with the Islamic community," he said.
"The problem with Islam in Australia is that you can take two small fingers and cover up those parts (Islamic communities) of Melbourne and Sydney on a map while most others in Australia wouldn't meet Muslim people or aggressive Muslim young people.
"However, if you live in Lakemba, Sydney, for example, it's in your face every day."
Asked by The Standard if he thought the general public was willing to better understand the issues he gave an emphatic, no.
"Unfortunately my experience in talking to Australian groups trying to help them understand Islamic culture and customs has usually been met with aggression, suspicion and a deep racism that's just below the surface of the skin," he said.
For 14 years Mr Moyes has written a weekly column in Arabic magazine, Egypt News, talking about how the West understands Middle East issues.
"In the past three or four issues I've spent a lot of time talking about IS (Islamic State), about how large it is they recruited 50,000 soldiers in nine weeks and how pervasive it is through at least six Middle East countries," he said. "IS has killed far more Muslims than Westerners."
Mr Moyes, 75, was once described by former prime minister John Howard as "the epitome of effective Christian leadership".
pcollins@fairfaxmedia.com.au