Fair Go Meda: Dr Jamaal Rifi
Bookmark thisHE’S the high-profile Muslim leader forging a path of unity for Aussies of all backgrounds — and now he’s officially the Pride of Australia.
Dr Jamal Rifi was awarded the national Fair Go Medal at a presentation ceremony in Sydney last night.
On receiving his award Dr Rifi joked that medicine was his part-time job and building bridges was his full-time job.
He said he had been pleased to be given a platform to show “the voice of the real Muslims in Australia”, which were far from the extremist views.
“These are the tiny minority, the majority love this country and want to silence these others,” he said.
Dr Rifi took the opportunity to thank his wife and children for their support of his work, especially in light of recent death threats against him.
The Belmore GP was the founder of Muslim Doctors Against Violence and founded the Christian-Muslim Friendship Society.
He came to Australia in 1984 and said last night that the Aussie strength of character he had experienced during the past three decades exemplified what Pride of Australia was about.
“We are a team — Australia is a team — this is team Australia right here,” Dr Rifi said after receiving the award.