Government Grants: success is not expansion

The Muslim community in Australia built its institutions through personal sacrifice. Mosques were not created with government funding or political patronage. They were built when uncles and aunties emptied their pockets, raised donations week after week and volunteered their labour after long shifts. They gave their time, wealth and energy so that the community could stand independent. Their effort created institutions that belonged to the people. That independence was a shield. It ensured the community was not beholden to any political party or government agenda. Losing that independence now is not simply a strategic mistake. It is the neutralisation of the very strength that allowed the community to survive and grow.

Even the pulpit is not off limits

We are not talking about grants that cannot be used to hold the community hostage. Such things are not controversial, but when well-known organisations or peak bodies enter the political space and meet with ministers, any grant they receive holds the community hostage. It achieves this effect because holding power for politicians with millions to dispense means organisations will back them, even from the height of the pulpit.

Labor only sees numbers

Labor continues to operate on the assumption that the community will eventually forget. It believes Muslim voters are stable, emotional and easily pacified. It thinks time heals political wounds and that financial gestures smooth over moral failures. It’s not misreading the community but reading the pattern of history, what has always occurred time and time again, not believing that the community can shift. The events of Gaza exposed and created a generation that will never return to political obedience. Young Muslims will not follow leaders who trade sincerity for funding. They will not be represented by organisations that justify their success only through expansion.

During a conversation at a voting booth for the 2025 Federal election, one staunch Labor member said, “Labor didn’t play dirty in these areas because they believe these voters will return.” Millions of dollars were given in Tony Burke’s seat of Watson and Jason Clare’s seat of Blaxland. The government believed it could neutralise criticism, soften outrage and present itself as a partner. What it failed to understand is that a community that is politically awakening does not behave like previous generations. Money does not erase betrayal. Public anger does not disappear because funding cycles resume.