AFP Ramadan dinner with Sydney Islamic community cancelled

I"M IN TORONTO!!!! (RAMADAN DIARIES 26)

Updated July 14, 2015 10:51:51

An Australian Federal Police (AFP) dinner in Sydney scheduled for the Muslim religious festival of Ramadan later this month has been cancelled due to community concerns.

Some community members have previously criticised the AFP and other agencies, saying they felt consultations in New South Wales regarding counter-terrorism measures had been tokenistic.

A petition, posted on Change.org by a group calling itself Concerned Muslims Australia and asking that people boycott planned end of Ramadan dinners in Sydney and Melbourne, saying the AFP had vilified the community, gathered more than 800 signatures.

The petition also accuses the Federal Government of a "prolonged campaign of anti-Muslim hysteria" over the past 12 months and says new counter-terrorism measures "target Muslims specifically".

In a written statement, the AFP said the decision not to host this year"s dinner showed the AFP and its partner agencies were consulting with and responding to the community. It said there would be other events in the future.

Sydney lawyer Lydia Shelley said while she did not sign the petition, she understood why the boycott happened.

"Largely the consultation that does take place is usually at the end of a baton, as opposed to any holistic programs or any holistic relationship and understanding," she said.

Dr Yasser Morsi from the University of South Australia said it was important there was a reboot in the relationship between the AFP and some parts of the Muslim community in NSW.

"The people behind [the petition], some of them are at the frontline of dealing with families whose homes have been raided, and they feel like that story hasn"t been told," he said.

"And I guess part of telling that story is to make sure there are people who are willing to listen.

"And when you"re not listened to, I think one way to deal with that is to say "let"s boycott in order for that relationship to be re-evaluated"."

A Ramadan dinner to be held in Melbourne later this month is scheduled to go ahead.

Topics:police,religion-and-beliefs,defence-and-national-security,terrorism,sydney-2000

First posted July 14, 2015 09:26:47

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-14/afp-ramadan-dinner-with-sydney-islamic-community-cancelled/6617696