"Australia is a Muslim country. Most Australians share Islamic values, even though they are not Muslims. In other countries, I see Muslims, but not Islam. However, the Muslim community itself in Australia is viewed with prejudice because of Islamophobia." Such a paradoxical statement was made on October 9 by the head of the Australian Association of Islamic Communities, Amir Ali.

The reason for it was the recent statements of some members of the Australian government, in particular Prime Minister John Howard. He said that Muslims who want to live in Australia under Sharia law should leave the country.

According to official statistics, the number of Muslims in Australia is rapidly increasing, now it reaches 280 thousand people. At the same time, the Government is experiencing difficulties with the cultural integration of the Muslim diaspora into society. Attempts to introduce Muslims to" Australian values " within the framework of a policy of cultural diversity (or multiculturalism) have not yet led to a positive result. On the contrary, the situation is getting worse every year.

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York and October 12, 2002 on the island of Bali (Indonesia), Islamophobic sentiments in Australian society increased. In December 2005, bloody clashes between the local population and Muslim immigrants continued for several days in the town of Cronulla, a suburb of Sydney.

Today, the ruling Liberal Party in the country is ready, if not to abandon the policy of cultural diversity, then, in any case, to make significant adjustments to it. "The idea of Australian multiculturalism has begun to work towards dissolving our sovereignty and identity," Education Minister Brendan Nelson told Muslim immigrants. "Most Australians believe in God. It was the Christians who founded this country. So if our God insults you, then I suggest that you choose another country as your home, because it is part of our culture."

In turn, such a loyal Islamic leader as Amir Ali, on behalf of Australian Muslims, responded in a very peculiar way, saying that he wants " to see Australia like a fruit salad with juice, but not like the juice of many different fruits."

Faced with the reluctance of Muslims to lose themselves in the "melting pot" of Australian culture, the government decided to tighten the country's immigration laws. At the end of September, Prime Minister John Howard announced that he would introduce tests of knowledge of the English language, history and culture of Australia for immigrants to help create a "strong national identity".

At the same time, he previously stressed that "he does not believe in the abolition of the non-discriminatory policy towards immigrants. This would not be true for people with moderate views. In such a case, hostile attitudes towards a particular religious community may appear. I don't think it will be useful," Howard added. Thus, immigrants from Muslim countries will be affected by the tightening of immigration rules on an equal basis with people of other faiths.

"The White Australia policy regarding immigrants was abolished back in 1972, "Vyacheslav Amirov, scientific secretary of the Center for Asia-Pacific Studies at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO RAS), told NGR. "Today, the majority of immigrants in Australia are from Asia: China, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Oceania."

According to Amirov, " the Muslim stratum consists mainly of immigrants from Malaysia, Lebanon, Egypt. Recently, many immigrants from Pakistan have appeared. Muslim immigrants are concentrated in large cities. The most cosmopolitan city is Sydney. This is where the greatest number of sectarian clashes were registered."

With the increasing flow of migrants from Muslim countries to Australia, the problems associated with the" clash of cultures " will increase, and the policy of multiculturalism will be further tested for strength. As you know, similar problems exist in Europe and America, but each country solves them in its own way. It seems that if Australia can maintain a principled position, political scientists will start talking about the "Australian model".

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