Speech

Sydney, 30 September 2005

Opening of the Multifaith Conference for Peace and Harmony

Introduction

Thank you MC [Mr Harun Abdullah]

Dr Ameer Ali, President of Australian Federation of Islamic Councils

Chief Minister Taib, President of the Regional Islamic Daw'ah Council of South-East Asia and the Pacific

Dr Surin, Sheikh Hilaly, other distinguished guests, delegates and friends

Ladies and gentlemen

It is a pleasure to join you this evening to mark the opening of this important event.

I would like to thank Dr Ali and Australian Federation of Islamic Councils and its colleagues for organising this event.

I know first hand what a committed advocate of interfaith dialogue Dr Ali is...

…and was delighted Dr Ali was able to take part in Australia's delegation to the interfaith dialogue I co-hosted with my Indonesian counterpart in December last year - an initiative I shall discuss later.

I am also delighted to be sharing the program this evening with Chief Minister Taib - a great friend of Australia and of building understanding in our region…

…a region where, more than ever before, Australia and its neighbours are finding new ways to take forward issues of mutual interest and importance.

This conference makes an important and timely contribution to the expanding network of interfaith dialogue…

…as it strives to broaden and deepen relations among faiths, communities and societies that seek peace and stability.

As we gather here, in all our diversity, it is important that we converse openly, frankly and freely - as is vital to the functioning of a vigorous and robust democracy such as Australia enjoys.

This conference will discuss issues of relevance and importance to us all…

…from the experiences of one another's faiths in this and previous eras, to views on the practical application of interfaith dialogue and on questions of terrorism.

As Foreign Minister, I would like to take the opportunity this evening to look in some detail at an issue that is topical in a domestic context and is a major focus for me in taking forward Australia's international agenda…

…that is, the threat from transnational terrorism and how we can best come together to address it.

I know it is of great concern - in particular for Muslim communities in Australia and no doubt elsewhere - that, given current trends in transnational terrorism, others will mistakenly identify terrorism with the religion of Islam.

Let me be plain - we do all face a grave threat - one of potentially huge costs in human, economic and material terms…

...as well as to the strength and vitality of the diverse and tolerant communities which contribute to Australia's security and prosperity.

But the most significant point I want to make to everyone and, in particular to Muslims, both Australian Muslims and those from around the region and the world, is that the war against terrorism is not a war against Muslims.

On the contrary, it is a battle we all share in, because Muslims are as much the targets as the so-called Westerners.

To understand this properly we need to understand the evil objectives of Islamic-extremist terrorists.

What the terrorists want, their ultimate goal if you like, is to create a new Caliphate in the Muslim world.

They want to drive out Western interests and influence from Muslim countries and they want to destroy moderate Muslim governments.

And they want to establish in their place an extremist Islamic regime that would be brutal, tyrannical and intolerant.

Such a regime would plunge these countries into a pre-modern world, where women and minorities would have no rights, where technology would be shunned and where personal choice and economic freedom would not be tolerated.

To picture the sort of regime I am talking about you only have to cast your mind back a few years to the Taliban regime that existed in Afghanistan until the end of 2001.

This is the reality that the extremists seek to impose on the Islamic world.

And in order to achieve their evil ends, they will attack their fellow Muslims as well as Westerners.

They regard moderate Muslims as Apostates and they seek to eradicate them along with the governments and authorities they have established.

Western targets are often singled out in moderate Muslim nations, not for the damage they will inflict on the West, but for the maximum economic, social and political disruption they can cause in the Muslim nation itself.

So let us all be clear. We are in this together.

This is not a battle between Muslims and non-Muslims.

This is a battle between tolerance and intolerance.

Winning the battle .

There are a number of ways that we need to fight this battle and win this struggle.

Undoubtedly there are times when military action is justified and necessary.

People have different views about the actions taken in Afghanistan and Iraq.

My view is that the destruction of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan was an important and valid response to the horror of September 11, 2001.

The Taliban regime harboured Al-Qaeda and in many ways was indistinguishable from it.

Under the Taliban regime terrorists were given cover and training. They had a safe territory from which to launch operations as far afield as Washington and New York.

It has been vital to deny them that comfort - and to liberate the people of Afghanistan, who as we know, are now taking control of their own destiny.

On Iraq, we need to be very clear-minded about the challenge we face now.

I appreciate that people hold various views about the overthrow of Saddam Hussein - some people argue it would have been better to leave him in power.

But whatever your views are on that, it would be a grave mistake now to hand Iraq over to the terrorists who have killed thousands of Iraqis.

These terrorists have killed thousands of their fellow Muslims in a deliberate attempt to thwart the establishment of a viable, democratic Iraqi nation.

To surrender to them now would be a catastrophic decision.

Importantly, to defeat the terrorists we also need strong domestic laws, intelligence resources, border controls and law enforcement operations.

Australia has been very active on this front. We are well-served by sophisticated law enforcement and intelligence agencies and we also have the good fortune of being an island, which aids our border security initiatives.

But as you would all be aware from the terrorism summit of national and State leaders this week, we are not being complacent.

New cooperation between Federal and State authorities and new counter-terrorism laws will bolster our domestic defences.

It would be of enormous concern, by the way, if these laws were portrayed as somehow targeting Muslims in Australia.

That is clearly not the case. The laws will apply equally to all Australians and they are a crucial initiative to support the security of all Australians - regardless of their faith or ethnic background.

We all need to be very careful about the language we use when debating these issues.

Alienation and division are what we should seek to avoid - especially as these are the very things the terrorists are seeking to foment.

The third major tactic in combating terrorism is through international or transnational cooperation.

As an international community, we have made some progress in important areas, such as on terrorist financing, and in the pursuit, capture, trial and conviction of many terrorists world-wide.

But significant steps remain to be taken.

As I told the UN General Assembly just over a week ago, it is regrettable that we did not grasp the opportunity provided by the recent UN Summit - the largest-ever gathering of world leaders - to produce a political declaration defining acts of terrorism.

And it was disheartening to hear the kinds of assertions which held back any such declaration - such as that the deliberate maiming and targeting of civilians is sometimes justified or that terrorists could possibly be excused as freedom fighters.

Terrorism cannot be masked by any so-called cause.

A crucial next step at the multilateral level is to conclude a Comprehensive Convention against Terrorism - this is a task the international community must achieve during the current Sixtieth session of the UN General Assembly.

It would be a terrible indictment if this time next year - as the Sixty-First Session begins and we mark half a decade since September 11 2001 - we have not yet put in place such a legal framework.

These are stark challenges to which the international community must rise.

At a bilateral level, Australia's 11 counter-terrorism MOUs with countries in our region provide an effective way of helping our security, intelligence, law enforcement and defence officials to work together.

Across the region, we have successfully seen terrorists captured, tried and convicted...

…some 40 following the Bali bombings, others following the Marriott Hotel bombings, and recently a further six for the bombing of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta just over one year ago.

In February 2004 my Indonesian counterpart, Hassan Wirajuda, and I co-hosted the Bali Regional Ministerial Meeting on Counter Terrorism which has set in train a process that is further deepening practical legal and law enforcement cooperation.

Our 2005-06 Federal Budget included an additional $40 million to strengthen regional counter-terrorism cooperation in key sectors such as law enforcement, border and transport security, intelligence and legal affairs….

…part of more than $250 million the Government has committed to regional counter-terrorism initiatives in 2004 and 2005.

Terrorists don't respect borders and they exploit weaknesses wherever they find them.

So there is no alternative to nations working closely together to eliminate this trans-national threat.

The fourth major front in this war is the battle of ideas - the battle in which this very gathering is playing a vital role.

The most successful warriors against the Islamic extremist terrorists will be moderate Muslims.

In the Mosques, in the Islamic schools and more broadly in the Muslim community, it is moderate Muslims who can spread and give life to the great values of peace and tolerance which are at the heart of the beliefs of the overwhelming majority of Muslims.

We must support each other, as people who respect the rights of others, as people who value tolerance.

We must support moderate Muslims to ensure that they successfully defeat the divisive message of hate, tyranny and intolerance propagated by the extremists.

Hassan Wirajuda and I co-hosted the inaugural regional Interfaith Dialogue event in Yogyakarta last December.

In a joint statement we said:

Interfaith cooperation is now a necessity - extremism poses a very serious threat to all our societies. All faiths need to resist those attempting to drive a wedge between them. We all need to come together and renounce those who advocate doctrines of intolerance and violence.

Ongoing interfaith cooperation is needed now more than ever.

I know that your discussions here over the next two days are one event among a number of thoughtful and productive multifaith forums involving the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils.

And in the region, we are truly fortunate to be served by the work of Chief Minister Taib and like-minded colleagues in a cause that is central to our shared future - regardless of which faith it is we may hold.

Following on the success of the interfaith dialogue in Yogyakarta, we are keen to keep momentum building toward the next such event

I am pleased to report a high level of interest and activity towards that goal, including the welcome addition of the Philippines and New Zealand to the co-sponsorship with Australia and Indonesia of the next Interfaith Dialogue, to be held in the Philippines in 2006.

Conclusion

Interfaith Dialogue has highlighted that people of diverse faiths can be united in their recognition of the need for tolerance, mutual respect and peaceful coexistence...

…and in their repugnance for extremist dogma that sees differences as fundamentally irreconcilable, that foments hatred, and extols violence as a solution and an end in itself.

Contesting this extremist vision is a challenge which religious, political and community leaders must embrace worldwide.

As I said earlier, the war we are engaged in is a war between tolerance and intolerance.

The only thing we should not tolerate, is to allow the extremists victory.

It has been a great pleasure to be here this evening to provide some comments on an issue which is so crucial to all our interests.

I wish you well for your discussions over the next two days.

And once again thank Dr Ali and the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils for the opportunity to join you in opening this conference.

ENDS