Irfan Yusuf
Irfan Yusuf (Urdu: عرفان یوسف) (born in 1969) is an Australian[1] social commentator[1] and author of the memoir Once Were Radicals: My years as a teenage Islamo-fascist.[2]
Education and work[]
Yusuf was born in Karachi, Pakistan and was raised in Sydney.[citation needed] His father was from Pakistan and his mother was born in India.[3] He lived in Pakistan and the U.S. for a time, and then returned to Australia and attended St Andrew's Cathedral School in Sydney.[4]
He graduated from Macquarie University in law and economics.[5] He also has a Diploma of Legal Practice from the University of Technology, Sydney.[6] He was admitted to the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 1994.
Political activities[]
Yusuf was involved in campus politics prior to joining the Liberal Party in 1993 where he became prominent[7] in its conservative faction.[8] In 2005 Yusuf explained "from 1994 to 2002, I was a factional warrior for the non-Group (right-wing) faction of the NSW Liberals."[9] He was elected to the State Council of the NSW division of the Party from 1996–2000.[10] In 1999, he ran with other members of the Liberal Party for the Bankstown council as part of a group called "New Generation", he was unsuccessful.[11] He was also endorsed as Liberal Party of Australia candidate for the safe Labor seat of Reid in the 2001 Australian Federal Election.[12] He achieved a two-party preferred swing of over 5%.[13]
Leaving the Liberal Party[]
He let his Liberal Party membership lapse in 2002 and in particular became critical of what he said was a takeover of the conservative faction by NSW Member of the Legislative Council David Clarke.[citation needed] In July 2006, in an episode of ABC's Four Corners,[14] he joined other former Liberals in criticising the direction of the Party. He accused Clarke of being willing to exploit anti-semitism and homophobia to recruit Muslims from Sydney to his party and faction, and that he had made derogatory remarks to him about Jews and homosexuals.[15] Clarke vehemently denied Yusuf's claims, threatening legal action which never eventuated.[15]
After a scandal involving a racist leaflet emerged during the 2007 election, Yusuf remarked on ABC's Lateline that a member expelled from the Liberal Party was perhaps affected by being "surrounded by bigots."[16]
Commentator and author[]
Yusuf's work has been published in 6 major newspapers[17] and he has appeared on a number of television and radio programmes.[18][19]
In an online article in September 2005, Yusuf criticised his former factional colleague Bronwyn Bishop, a prominent Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives.[20] Bishop had led a campaign to ban the muslim headscarf in state schools on grounds that it was inconsistent with school uniforms and it was therefore an "iconic emblem of defiance".[21] Yusuf said the campaign was more about discouraging rebelliousness and minimising cultural diversity, and facetiously suggested that dresses were far more of a national security issue: "How do we know that these women aren't hiding bombs under their dress?".[22] He has previously criticised what he says are Bishop's efforts to "marginalise a key faith-sector of mainstream Australia" as being "most helpful to Osama bin Ladin".[22] Bishop denied Yusuf's claim, saying it was "stupid" and offensive."[23] In a speech to the Australian Parliament, Bishop further responded to Yusuf's criticism, declaring that Yusuf was "known for his offensive behaviour towards women".[20]
Since then, Yusuf has publicly campaigned against violence against women, particularly in the Muslim community.[24]
In 2007, Yusuf received the Iremonger award by publishers Allen and Unwin, for his submission "Once were Radicals"[25] that was published during 2009 as an autobiographical work Once Were Radicals: My years as a teenage Islamo-fascist.[2] In 2008, he was "highly commended" by the Jesuit publication Eureka Street, for an essay on combating violence against women in Muslim-majority states.[26]
He was a guest speaker at the Sydney Writers Festival in 2009, and a description of the event said Irfan "points the finger at mainstream extremism and hypocrisy and is a passionate (and funny) voice of moderation.[citation needed]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Irfan Yusuf". ABC. 2 June 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Irfan Yusuf (2009),Once were radicals – My years as a teenage Islamo-fascist, Allen and Unwin, May 2009
- ^ Ali, Mahir (2 May 2009). "Lessons of a wannabe teen hero". The Australian. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
- ^ Jill Rowbotham, Religious affairs writer Portrait of a radical as a young man 13 December 2007 The Australian
- ^ Yusuf, Irfan (20 November 2008). Irfan Yusuf on Imams as Expert Witnesses (Speech). Conference '08. Melbourne, Victoria: University of Melbourne. Archived from the original on 18 February 2011.
- ^ Australian Homeland Security Research Centre, About Us Archived 8 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Ah, the tears of crocodiles". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 September 2005.
- ^ [2]
- ^ http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/nsw/content/2006/s1694459.htm
- ^ Yusuf, Irfan (24 September 2006). "Multiculturalism – the great debate begins". Daily Telegraph online. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
- ^ The National Interest: 28 August 2005 – The Aussie Mossie
- ^ Carr, Adam. "COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA LEGISLATIVE ELECTION OF 10 NOVEMBER 2001". Psephos. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
- ^ ABC, 17 July 2006, The Right Stuff
- ^ Jump up to: a b ABC Lateline, 5/9/05, Clarke denies denigrating Jews, homosexuals
- ^ ABC Lateline, 22 November 2007, Liberal candidate goes to ground after bogus flyer controversy
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 May 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ Onlinopinion.com, Irfan Yusuf, accessed 28 April 2009
- ^ Yusuf, Irfan (26 September 2008). "Irfan Yusuf: Islam isn't a synonym for terrorism". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Sydney Morning Herald, 6 September 2005 Bishop accused of keeping bomb in skirt
- ^ [3]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Irfan Yusuf, Online Opinion, 6 September 2005, Mrs Bishop and the cloth
- ^ [4]
- ^ Yusuf, Irfan (12 September 2008). "Irfan Yusuf: Violence against women won't stop until men speak out". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
- ^ Allen & Unwin – The Iremonger Award Archived 19 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Eureka Street Extra, 19 July 2008, Eureka Street Writers Awards winners announced
External links[]
- 1969 births
- Australian Muslims
- Australian writers
- Living people
- Pakistani emigrants to Australia
- Australian people of Indian descent
- Lawyers from Sydney
- Macquarie Law School alumni
- Pakistani people of Indian descent
- Pakistani lawyers
- Pakistani writers
- Lawyers from Karachi
- Writers from Karachi
- Politicians from Karachi
- Australian politicians of Pakistani descent