Former Islamic Council executive says Australian attitudes need to change

Attitudes, not Islam, has caused young Australian Muslims to become disaffected, says the former executive of the Islamic Council of Victoria.

Psychologist Monique Toohey told Tom Elliott the problem wasn’t being tackled correctly.

She met a group of Labor MPs this week to discuss the issue.

‘There’s a huge psychological component to this that has been absent from the conversation,’ Ms Toohey explained on 3AW Drive.

She said some of the public rhetoric wasn’t helping.

‘The re-arrival of Pauline Hanson on the scene certainly doesn’t help the situation,’ she said.

‘My seven-year-old son was in the lounge room on the couch, in his uniform, ready for school and she pops her head up on Sunrise and says ‘we don’t want Muslims here’.

‘It was the first time I had to confront something like that.’

LISTEN: Monique Toohey shares her thoughts on 3AW Drive