The CEO of a school bordering Logan has been praised for his brave and daring experiment, but trolled by others.
Ali Kadri, the CEO of the Islamic College of Brisbane (ICB), the largest Islamic school in the state, led a televised experiment on SBS called ‘The Swap’.
The experiment saw six ICB students swap places with six students from catholic colleges and a state high school.
Mr Kadri said he wanted to use the experiment to break down barriers in the community.
“I dedicate my life to bringing different people and communities together to build social cohesion,” he said.
“I have always championed this idea.”
He said he knew there were going to be mixed reactions, but for the most part, it was a success.
“Overwhelmingly, family and friends are supportive and they thought it was a brave experiment,” he said.
“I was nervous in the beginning, especially because it was the first of its kind.
“But secretly I was hopeful that my hypothesis – that young people are generally better in handling their differences and are less biased – would be correct.”
Mr Kadri’s experiment garnered international attention.
“The Netherlands want to do a swap of their own too,” he said.
But despite positive reactions from some communities, online trolls shared false claims on Twitter to undermine Mr Kadri’s efforts.
“It was interesting that it became quite viral in India – they watched it about 50 million times,” he said.
“Some Hindu extremist groups shared it saying that Muslims in Australia were forcing non-Muslims to pray.”
Mr Kadri said he wasn’t fazed by trolls and was open to debate, but was not impressed by the lies.
“We need to have nuanced conversations about differences,” he said.
“People are not black and white, everyone is different.
“As long as your difference doesn’t impact on anyone else’s life, it should be accepted within society.
“We are a multicolour society and we are rightly accepting of people of all faiths and beliefs, and you should always debate your beliefs, but never force others – that is a recipe for disaster.”
Mr Kadri said his “mission” to unite people began in India, where he grew up.
“India was once very well accepting of all differences, but I saw it break apart into silos and communities that started mistrusting each other,” he said.
His worldview was shaped by an incident that led to the death of his cousin in a 2022 riot.
“I used these events for positive change to create social cohesion,” he said.
“It’s a mission, and a very important one.”
Mr Kadri said some of the students involved in the show basked in their newfound fame, while others were shy.
“Everyone takes it differently,” he said.
A common theme was the “understanding” the kids brought to the experiment.
Mr Kadri said it was often the children “defending Muslims” to their parents.
“It shows that through a little bit of interaction at such a young age, [kids are] able to understand that people are different,” he said.
“What [adults] need to understand is that when we come across something that is different, we cannot straight away judge or dislike it, we need to understand that it is different.”
He said the show also highlighted certain aspects of Islam in Australia.
“It showcased that the Muslim community is actually quite diverse, as are all communities,” he said.
“Australians are all different… so don’t be threatened by differences.”
