From APRO [the NCCA is a member of APRO]

The Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils’ of Australia (FECCA) and the Australian Partnership of Religious Organisations (APRO) strongly support actions to build respect between faith communities.

“APRO and FECCA support condemnation of disrespectful actions that hurt any faith community,” said Mr Abd Malak, Convenor of APRO today. “We therefore support the actions of East Preston Islamic School in expelling students for totally unacceptable behaviour and trust that the school will also ensure that students are counselled so that they understand the hurt that they have caused.”

“Mutual respect is important to building and ensuring a cohesive and accepting community,” said Ms Voula Messimeri, FECCA Chair. “Disrespectful actions by individuals from any community must be challenged,” she continued.

“APRO acknowledges the importance of young people learning about each others faiths as a positive way of building respect,” said Mr John Walker, APRO member, and National Secretary of the Baha’i Community. “We hope that this incident provides an opportunity to build this understanding in the future,” concluded Mr Malak and Ms Messimeri.

For media comment: Mr Abd Malak 0417 489 066
                                Ms Voula Messimeri 0414 532 529