Ever since the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US and the 2005 racial riots in Cronulla, a southern suburb of Sydney, things haven’t been easy for Muslims in Australia. Targeted for their religious beliefs and often misrepresented in the mainstream media, Australian Muslims have felt under pressure and marginalised. Today, a new Muslim comedy show, "Salam Café,” is giving this minority a voice. "Salam Café" represents a new generation of Australian Muslims. Young, smart and funny, they’re on a mission: to defy stereotypes and have a laugh.

 

Wednesday night in Sydney’s Hills district. A group of friends is gathering in front of their TV set to watch "Salam Café": the first and only Muslim comedy show to be aired on national television in a western country.

For many Australian Muslims, the show is a breath of fresh air, finally giving a voice to Muslim moderates.

In recent years, relations between Australian Muslims and non- Muslims have hardly been harmonious.

 

In December 2005, racist riots in Sydney’s south made headlines around the world. An incident on the beach triggered 5,000 people to take to the street to protest against the presence of Middle Eastern youths in their suburb.

More recently, the construction of an Islamic school on the outskirts of Sydney was violently opposed by sections of the local community. The council ended up rejecting the project, claiming it would disturb local traffic.

Professor Kevin Dunn, from the University of Western Sydney, says there’s been what he calls an accumulation of islamophobia in Australia, which is not unusual in Western countries, he adds.

 

According to Dunn, who recently conducted a survey to map out Australians attitudes towards Islam, about a third of Australians don’t know anything about Islam and about half know only a little bit. Altogether, that’s 8 out of 10 Australians being in real ignorance about Islam.

 

Dunn recognises the need to expand Australians’ understanding and knowledge of this religion and says it’s urgent to do so if one’s serious about addressing anti-Muslim racism in Australia. Part of the strategy is to encourage shows like "Salam Café" to grow and be more visible.

 

“They normalise Islam, they allow people to see Muslims as everyday people,” Dunn says.

 

"Salam Café’s" irreverent sense of humour takes them a long way indeed.

 

When the Camden controversy was at its peak, "Salam Café" sent a special envoy: the show’s most popular character: Uncle Sam - a confrontational but harmless Muslim fundamentalist who walked up and down Camden’s streets singing out loud:  “I want to build a school - or ten. I want to build a school in Camden,” which Uncle Sam refers to as “IslamDen”.

 

Defying stereotypes is indeed what "Salam Café" does best - easing racial tensions, one joke at a time.