Bandar Seri Begawan - In A series of public lectures, Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) has invited a Muslim scholar from Australia yesterday to speak to members of the public on the Islamic experience in Australia.

The Australian High Commission in cooperation with UBD hosted a public lecture by Imam Shady Alsuleiman entitled "The Australian Islamic Experience", where he spoke of the challenges as well as the Islamic environment for Muslims. Arab-Palestinian Imam Shady was born in

Sydney in 1978 and proudly describes himself as Australian Muslim and labels himself as "homegrown".

A recognised Islamic scholar in Comparitive Islamic Jurisprudence, he is the driving force behind the Muslim community in Australia. Speaking on the experiences of the Australian Muslims living and practicing their faith within the non-Muslim communities, he said that one of the biggest challenges that they faced was the generation gap.

He related that between the 50s and 60s, there was an influx of Muslims to Australia, his parents included. "Our parents came and brought their culture along with them, but the the thing is that my upbringing in Australia is different from how my parents were brought up in Palestine," he said, adding: "My education was different and the gap between us was a lot more than any gap in our generation. I do believe that bridging the gap was a challenge."

Being of the second generation, he said that there were a lot of difficulties with the reason being that they did not have enough direction or role models to look up to. As to why there was no sense of direction among the Muslims, he explained that there were not a lot of imams. "We need to have imams who understand us. Alhamdulillah, a lot of imams came forward. All with good intentions, but there was still a barrier in communication, accents and especially language," he said. Being one of the first to be educated in the Middle-East, Imam Shady said that he managed to bridge the language barriers.

"I do encourage local imams in Brunei and the rest of the Muslim world to learn English because it is becoming so popular in the Dakwah and Islamic field," he said.

He added: "There is so much demand for imams who can speak and write in English then those who are fluent in Arabic".

Imam Shady also has a reputation for helping Australian Muslims deal with the challenges, specifically through interfaith dialogues with non-Muslims in Australia which is strongly supported by the communities consisting of students as well as the government. It provides a platform for different faiths to agree or disagree without disrespecting each other.

He added: "The purpose is not just to tell them what Islam is all about because everyone has their own belief. At the end of the day, the whole objective is to understand one another. This will benefit us." The "We want to make clear that Islam is against terrorism," he said. As the operator of the largest Muslim Youth Centre called United Muslims of Australia in Sydney, he proceeded to talk about it and how the centre has become a support centre for Muslim youth. "I established the centre because I saw that the young Muslims needed direction," he said.

Imam Shady added that the centre housed a basketball court, a very well equipped gym and classrooms. "The purpose is for our young Muslims to come and have fun. We try to attract and keep them in a good environment so that they stay away from social ills such as drugs and alcohol, "he explained.

Later in the evening, Australian High Commission hosted a dinner for Imam Shady at the Takaful IBB Building. "It is our hope that through Imam Shady's visit you will see that combining Australia and Islam is not as strange as it first might seem. It is our hope that through understanding this aspect of Australian society, you will see Australia in a different light," said Australian High Commissioner Mark Sawers.-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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