SYDNEY – In an attempt to draw candidates from across different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, Australian Defence Forces have announced plans to recruit the army’s first Muslim imam to meet Muslim personnel's spiritual needs.
"I have asked my department to move as quickly as possible to identify a part-time Islamic Imam to join the ADF's religious advisory committee to ensure those 96 ADF members of an Islamic faith have appropriate representation," Assistant Defence Minister Stuart Robert said to The Sydney Morning Herald early March.
Speaking in a speech to the Parliament, he announced he was asking Defence to "renew efforts" on recruiting a more "culturally and linguistically diverse workforce".
To achieve this target the army was seeking to hire a Muslim imam to serve ADF's religious advisory committee
The committee, which includes one Jewish and five Christian religious leaders will provide advice to the force on policies to meet its personnel's spiritual needs.
Taking part in the advisory committee, the imam, however, will not provide pastoral care as do Christian Chaplains in the force.
The new policy, seeking to ensure cultural diversity within the ADF, needed to happen more quickly, Robert said.
"It is clear the growth of a culturally and linguistically diverse workforce, that represents the changing face of modern Australia, is moving too slowly," he said.
"This is going to change."
He further explained that there would also be a "dedicated recruitment strategy" to target sections of the community from which soldiers, sailors, airmen and women are not typically drawn.
The new recruits are expected to help Defence engage with neighbours in the Asia-Pacific region and as overseas partners with the United Nations and NATO, and also in peacekeeping and disaster relief operations.
"This strategy … is born out of the stark reality that combat power will be enhanced," he said.
"As modern military operations evolve, there will be a growing requirement for greater interaction with, and understanding of, different cultures."
Muslims, who have been in Australia for more than 200 years, make up 1.7 percent of its 20-million population.
Currently, about 5.7 percent of the ADF's 57,000-strong permanent force identify as coming from a non-English speaking background.
About 5.4 percent were born overseas in countries other than New Zealand, Britain, Canada and the US.
The Sydney Morning Herald
