Omar Merhi
A voice of hope
PUBLISHED IN THE MELBOURNE HERALD SUN
8 December 2005
It was 2.30 am on the morning of Tuesday 8 November when the federal
police arrived at electrician, Abdullah Merhi's,
house in Fawkner. So began what his older brother, Omar, calls 'a
nightmare'. A highly respected shop steward with the Electrical
Trades Union, 31-year-old Omar Merhi spends more time at
the Fitzroy Junior Football Club football, where he coaches the
U17s, than he does at the mosque.
A month ago, at my book launch at Lexus Centre, I laughed when
he asked whether Dermott Brereton would mind autographing a football
for his nephew. It's probably the first time Dermott had written
the name, Mohammed, on a football. Omar is a friend of mine. I've
met his family and we've discussed politics. Recently I interviewed
him for the ETU's website podcast in which he said terrorism was
totally at odds with the Koran. This didn't stop him marching against
the invasion of Iraq or asking Moreland Council - three weeks before
his brother's arrest - to address 'growing anti-Muslim hatred'.
That hatred was reflected in the appearance of 'Kill Muslims' graffiti
in a Coburg Street near his home and torrents of abuse of women
wearing headscarfs.
Like so many Muslims in the northern suburbs, where I live, Omar
is concerned that the simple act of making political statements
or strictly practising their faith might result in Muslims being
branded un-Australian or suspected of being terrorists. He prays
that this is why his brother is now in gaol. Yet, as much as he
loves his brother, Omar has refrained from saying 20-year-old Abdullah is a
victim of anti-Muslim hysteria. On Saturday, Omar took Abdullah's
pregnant wife to Barwon Prison to see her husband. On Thursday 15
December they'll be back in the Supreme Court for Abdullah's bail
application, where solicitor Rob Stary will strenuously deny that
his client has committed or was preparing to commit a crime, or
poses a danger to the community.
Omar Merhi's politics come from the workplace, not the teachings
of Muslim clerics. In early 2004 he went to a lecture given by arrested
cleric Abu Bakr. It was his first and only experience of Bakr's
brand of Islam. Finding Muslims in Moreland who disagree with Bakr's
view on women or the superiority of the Islamic religion over Christianity
is as easy as finding an enemy of John Howard in the trade union
movement.
Although Omar says 'the courts must decide whether Abdullah is
guilty', this isn't the end of the matter for me. The courts and
the police can't resolve the issue of how I co-exist with my Muslim
neighbours in Brunswick and Coburg. We need to engage the Muslim
community and collectively break down the misunderstandings and
prejudices. If there are clerics in my neighbourhood who believe
we westerners are infidels, then we need to tell them they don't
belong.
In the mid '60s the principal of St Joseph's College in Pascoe
Vale was systematically molesting boys in my class. I was lucky
enough not to be one of them. For some inexplicable reason no one
stopped him. In November 2004, 81-year-old Brother Keith Weston
was found guilty and given a suspended gaol sentence. It's a reminder
that Christians have no monopoly on morality. Just as someone should
have confronted Brother Weston, so must we confront clerics - Muslim
or Christian - who we suspect are up to no good. Pandering to hysteria
or branding a Muslim cleric a would-be terrorist just because he
criticises George Bush, as some politicians do, offers us no hope.
If we are to build a cohesive society Omar Merhi offers us hope.
It's no surprise he that received more than 300 text messages of
personal support following his brother's arrest. If Steve Bracks
genuinely cares about protecting Victorians from terrorism he should
carefully read the letter Omar has sent him. Then he should get
on the phone and organise to meet him. Engagement, not hysteria
and heavy-handed laws, is the way forward.
Phil Cleary
Melbourne Herald Sun
8 December 2005
