Mission
Driven by an Islamic ethos, AMAN works to secure the psychological and physical safety of Australian Muslims through expert contributions to policy development, law reform, and through using complaints, parliamentary processes and strategic litigation.
Unlike organisations that are focused on supporting affected individuals, we are focused on preventing harm to the Muslim community as a whole.
Purpose
AMAN operates nationally to prevent emotional and physical abuse experienced by the Muslim community due to prejudice, discrimination, Islamophobia, xenophobia and racism. AMAN works to prevent this abuse, and the effects of this abuse. The effects include:
- limits on personal liberty;
- limits on the fulfilment of other fundamental human rights;
- the tendency to internalise dehumanising messages and negative stereotypes; and
- the tendency to accept or normalise inferior status or rights.
Vision
Our vision is an Australia with a hopeful and vibrant sense of nationhood, one that owns and celebrates its cosmopolitan nature. We understand Australia’s colonial past, strong European connections and the outstanding heritage and ongoing aspirations of First Nations’ peoples. Our presence on this continent reaches back centuries. Our stories are now intrinsically woven together. The strength of our liberal democracy is core in carrying out this vision; not only in protecting freedom of expression and encouraging quality debate, but also in upholding equality and respect amongst diverse peoples.
AMAN’s top priorities
Our first agenda is about making it clear, through law, policy and education, that inciting hatred and violence against people, because of their religion, is not ‘free speech.’ The Albanese Government has committed to delivering religious discrimination and vilification laws. We will keep going until they are legislated in Parliament.
Another critical change we seek is to Australian Terrorism Law to remove the category of ‘religiously motivated’ terrorism. All terrorism is political and ideological. Islam does not support terrorism. Australian law has contributed to the strength of racist nationalist movements by perpetuating the conflation of our religion and terror, which is spread through the media.
We are keen to work across institutions of our Governments, laws, law enforcement, media, tech companies, regulators and the research sector to prevent harm to the Australian Muslim community.
The changes we push are beneficial to other minoritised communities in Australia, especially those facing entrenched and institutional racism.
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Acknowledgement of Country
AMAN acknowledges the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We recognise that many of the issues Muslims face from police and the legal system, from mainstream media, politics, researchers and online, were first and continue to be experienced by First Nations Peoples. We acknowledge their ongoing power, sovereignty, voice, aspirations and struggle. There will be no racial justice in Australia until there is justice for First Nations Peoples.