By NNN-Bernama
Melbourne : Saudi Arabia is curbing radicalization among its university students in Australia by ensuring its undergraduates make up less than one per cent on any campus, it is reported here.
The move is a marked turnaround from past initiatives when it pumped an estimated 120 million Australian dollars (one USD= about 1.06 AUD) into the Australian Islamic community since the 1970s, according to a report in “The Australian” newspaper.
Muslim leaders have backed the move by the Saudi Embassy’s cultural mission, which is responsible for the nation’s students in Australia, the newspaper said.
They said it would deliver a strong message to students that fundamentalist Islam — namely Wahabism, widely practiced in Riyadh and espoused by Osama bin Laden — was not welcome at Australian universities, the report said.
Former John Howard government Muslim advisory board chairman Dr Ameer Ali said an influx of Saudi students threatened to propagate radical teachings on campuses.
“Radicalization is already taking place in this country,” Dr Ali told The Australian. “This (influx) will add to the momentum of radicalisation.
“So I think it’s a good measure by the cultural mission not to allow them to congregate in one place because they are coming from a very orthodox, conservative Islamic background.
“It’s better to scatter them, so that they can acclimatise to the general environment of this country and mix with the other students.
“That may be a good sign they can improve their thinking and may become critical of their own thinking.”
La Trobe University’s International College director Martin Van Run said the Saudi cultural mission wanted students to learn Australian culture and embrace it.
The number of Saudi students in Australia has risen almost eightfold in the five years, bringing total enrolment to 2,090, the newspaper said. As that figure is only a fraction of one per cent of the total Australian university population, Van Run said Saudi Arabia was taking a proactive step with the measure.
The Saudi Embassy’s move follows revelations in The Australian this week that Saudi students at La Trobe University and other institutions wanted lectures to be rescheduled to fit in with prayer timetables and separate male and female eating and recreational areas on campuses.
It was revealed last March that 150 international Muslims students, predominantly from Saudi Arabia, had overthrown the board of the Newcastle Muslim Association and wrested control of its mosque.