Advertisement

Melbourne council criticised over hijab experiment

A Melbourne council has been criticised for encouraging non-Muslim women to wear hijabs, as part of a ‘social experiment’ for National Youth Week.

The City of Greater Dandenong asked women to wear the traditional Islamic headdress for three hours yesterday, in an attempt to raise ‘awareness, insight and education’ about cultural and religious differences.

Students from the local Islamic school, Minaret College, staffed an information table, encouraging women who participated in the trial to share their experiences with others.

A spokesman for the college told News Corp: “What we believe is embracing diversity and sharing it with others.”

But the project has prompted backlash.

Institute of Public Affairs executive director John Roskam claimed the experiment could further divide the community.

“This doesn’t encourage integration, this encourages separateness,” he told NewsCorp.

“This is not what multicultural Australia is about.”

Mr Roskam said recent events have shown that Christians, and not Muslims, are the world’s most persecuted religious group.

“If we’re going to have people dressing up as Muslims for three hours, why doesn’t the council encourage people to dress up as Christians,” he said.

“What the council should be encouraging is allowing people from any walk of life and any religion to integrate.”

Islamic Friendship Association president Keysar Trad said he saw the hijab experiment as a positive way for non-Muslim people to experience a different perspective, insisting it promoted a better understanding of the faith.

“It is part of our religion for women to cover their hair,” he told NewsCorp.

“It’s a statement of religious observance; it’s saying, ‘I am a devout Muslim woman’.”