The Muslim Community Reference Group (MCRG) was an advisory body to the

Australian federal government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...

, set up by the Howard Government, from mid-2005 to mid-2006. The board served to provide the federal government with proposals on strategies and practices to help integrate the Muslim community and to foster greater understanding towards Muslims among the general society, public institutions and governmental bodies.

Founding

The Muslim Community Reference Group was founded by John Cobb, the former Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs. The

Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) was a department of the Government of Australia that was responsible for immigration, citizenship and border control (including visa issuance). It has now been subsumed into the Depar ...

(DIMA), under Parliamentary Secretary

Andrew Robb Andrew John Robb (born 20 August 1951) is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 2004 to 2016, representing the Liberal Party. He served as Minister for Trade and Investment (2013–2016) in th ...

, provided secretariat support to the MCRG."Building on social cohesion, harmony and security: An action plan by the Muslim Community Reference Group "
Muslim Community Reference Group. (2006). Canberra.

Board members

The following members were listed as members of the MCRG's main board in the group's September 2006 report: * Ameer Ali, an Australian academic and former President of the

Australian Federation of Islamic Councils The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC), founded in 1964 as Australian Federation of Islamic Societies (AFIS) and also known as Muslims Australia, is a not-for-profit umbrella organisation to represent Sunni Muslims across Australi ...

, an umbrella group for various

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or ''Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the main ...

groups or councils in Australia, was the appointed chairman of the Australian Muslim Community Reference Group in 2006. *Dr. Mustapha Kara-Ali served as a member of the MCRG and chaired its Schooling Subgroup. He is a community developer and a former Harvard University scholar who worked on political philosophy and religion. Prior to that he won a Commonwealth Endeavour Award for his PhD on comparative philosophy. In relation to the work of the MCRG, he founded Birr in 2006 as a Government-Community Partnership in Western Sydney. *Sheikh

Taj El-Din Hilaly Taj El-Din Hamid Hilaly (alternatively spelt Tajeddin Hilaly, Hilali, Al-Hilaly, Taj el-Din al-Hilali, Aldin Alhilali, Tajideen El-Hilaly or Tajeddine) Toni Hassan ABC Radio, The Religion Report (transcripKeysar Trad on an alternative Australia ...

, Imam of the

Lakemba Mosque The Lakemba Mosque, also known as the Masjid Ali Bin Abi Talib and officially the Imam Ali bin Abi Taleb Mosque, is Australia's largest mosque. It is located at 71-75 Wangee Road, Lakemba. Owned and managed by the Lebanese Muslim Association ...

in Sydney and appointed Mufti of Australia by the

in 1988, was a member of the board until he was sacked in July 2006 following comments he made in which he denied the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

, calling it a "Zionist lie." *

Aziza Abdel-Halim Aziza Abdel-Halim AM is an Egyptian- Australian academic, teacher, and founder of the Muslim Women's National Network Australia (MWNNA). Early life and education Abdel-Halim was born in Egypt, and grew up in Alexandria during World War II. ...

, President of the

Muslim Women's National Network Australia Muslim Women's National Network Australia (MWNNA) is an association in Australia which represents a network of progressive Muslim women's organisations and individual Muslim women. MWNNA runs events and projects for Muslim women, and represents ...

. *

Mohammed Taha Al-Salami Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monot ...

, President of the

Iraqi Islamic Council of Australia Iraqi or Iraqis (in plural) means from Iraq, a country in the Middle East, and may refer to: * Iraqi people or Iraqis, people from Iraq or of Iraqi descent * A citizen of Iraq, see demographics of Iraq * Iraqi or Araghi ( fa, عراقی), someone ...

was also among the initial group of Australian Muslim leaders who met with John Howard in 2005. *Sheikh

Fehmi Naji El-Imam Fehmi Naji El-Imam Order of Australia, AM ( ar, فهمي ناجي الإمام) (1928- 24 September 2016) was the Grand Mufti of Australia from June 2007 to September 2011. Born in Lebanon, he arrived in Australia in 1951. He was elected to succ ...

*Nadia Gani *Amin Hady *Harry Hage *Iktimal Hage-Ali *Kemal Ismen *Abdul Jalal *Yasser Soliman *Malcolm Thomas

Others

Zachariah Matthews Zachariah Matthews, a Sydney Muslim educator and community advocate, was born in Bosmont Johannesburg and attended Chris Jan Botha Senior Secondary School CJB, South Africa, where he studied Qur'an and Islamic studies as well as secular subjects. ...

, an author and public speaker on Islamic topics, former president of the

Australian Islamic Mission Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal ...

(AIM) and board member of the

Australian Muslim Civil Rights and Advocacy Network Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal ...

(AMCRAN), helped craft the board's public statements.

References

{{Reflist Islam in Australia Social policy Advisory councils for heads of state 2005 in Australia 2006 in Australia Public policy in Australia

Founding

Board members

Others

See also

References