Social cohesion is not built by erasing difference. As was demonstrated 1,400 years ago in the city of Medina, it is built by creating trust, justice and shared purpose across difference.
Australia is one of the world’s most successful multicultural societies. Nearly one in three Australians is born overseas and almost half the population has at least one parent born overseas. Yet despite this success, questions about identity, belonging, trust and social cohesion continue to shape public debate.
How do people from different cultures, faiths and backgrounds live together while preserving their identity and building a shared future? For Muslims living in Western societies like Australia, this question is particularly important. Many grapple with how to remain faithful to Islamic principles while participating confidently in broader society. The public debate often presents a false choice. Assimilate completely or remain separate. Blend in or retreat inward.
But there is another path. More than 1,400 years ago, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ offered a practical example of how diverse communities could coexist without erasing difference. His life in the city of Medina provides lessons not only for Muslims living in the West, but also for multicultural societies seeking stronger cohesion.
When Prophet Muhammad ﷺ migrated from Makkah to Medina in 622 CE, he entered a city marked by complexity and division. Medina was not religiously or socially uniform. It included Arab tribes with long standing rivalries, Jewish communities, migrants from Makkah, local supporters and groups with competing political and economic interests.
Yet rather than demanding sameness, the Prophet ﷺ built a society based on cooperation and shared responsibility. The Constitution of Medina, developed more than 14 centuries ago, established a civic framework that recognised different communities while setting out mutual obligations for peace, security and coexistence. Diverse groups retained their religious identity and also agreed to a shared social compact.
In today’s language, it was an early example of plural civic governance. At a time when much of the world was defined by tribal loyalty and conflict, this was a remarkable achievement in social cohesion.
Perhaps one of the most important lessons from the Prophet’s ﷺ life is that people can belong to a society without losing who they are.
Too often, multicultural debates in Western countries frame integration as cultural surrender. Minority communities are expected to fit into a narrow mould of national identity, while others fear that maintaining cultural or religious identity weakens social unity.
The Prophet ﷺ demonstrated another model. Muslims in Medina did not isolate themselves from wider society, nor were non-Muslim communities expected to abandon their identity. Cohesion was built through shared responsibility, trust and common purpose.
The Qur’an itself acknowledges diversity as part of human reality:
We created you from nations and tribes so that you may know one another. (49:13)
This idea of belonging without assimilation resonates deeply with my own experience.
Born in Bangladesh, educated in multicultural settings in Malaysia and Canada, and later building a life in Australia, I have experienced first hand the challenge of navigating multiple identities.
At the International Islamic University Malaysia, where I studied as part of its pioneer cohort, students came from across the Muslim world and beyond. Diversity was not treated as a problem to overcome but as an opportunity to learn from one another. Australia later reinforced that lesson.
One of the Prophet’s ﷺ most enduring strengths was his ability to build trust across communities. A striking example comes from a well known incident when a Jewish funeral procession passed by him. The Prophet ﷺ stood in respect. When someone remarked that the deceased was Jewish, he replied: “Was it not a human soul?”
The lesson was simple but profound. Shared humanity matters.
In my own community work, I have repeatedly seen how relationships reduce misunderstanding. When we established the Gungahlin Mosque in Canberra in 2017, our vision extended beyond constructing a place of worship. We wanted to build connections.
Through mosque open days, community Iftars, interfaith gatherings and engagement with neighbours, schools, journalists and local leaders, we created opportunities for people to meet and talk. What became clear was this. Fear often grows in the absence of relationships. Trust grows when people meet.
Research on social cohesion repeatedly points to the same conclusion. Meaningful contact between communities reduces prejudice and strengthens social trust. The Prophet ﷺ understood this more than 1,400 years ago.
The Prophet ﷺ did not teach withdrawal from society. He taught contribution. One of his sayings captures this clearly: “The best of people are those most beneficial to others.”
For Muslims in Western societies, this offers an important framework. The question is not only whether we belong, but how we contribute. Across Australia, Muslims contribute every day as doctors, teachers, business owners, academics, public servants, volunteers and community leaders.
Participation also matters in civic life. During my involvement in the 2020 ACT Legislative Assembly election campaign, I witnessed how meaningful representation strengthens belonging. Many migrants and Muslims expressed pride in seeing someone from their own background participate visibly in public life.
Representation alone does not solve inequality or exclusion. But it sends an important signal that everyone has a stake in the nation’s future.
Later in my own journey, I was humbled to receive the Order of Australia Medal for community service. I viewed this not simply as personal recognition, but as a reminder that contribution matters in multicultural societies. A Bangladeshi-born Muslim migrant could participate fully in Australian civic life, while remaining grounded in faith and identity.
This is one of multiculturalism’s quiet strengths. It allows people to contribute to the national story without abandoning where they came from.
Australia today faces many of the pressures confronting diverse societies around the world. Rising polarisation, misinformation, social fragmentation and declining trust can undermine cohesion if left unattended.
The life of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ offers several enduring lessons.
First, diversity need not weaken unity when it is anchored in shared civic responsibility.
Second, social trust grows through relationships and interaction, not isolation.
Third, belonging does not require assimilation. People can remain confident in their identity while contributing to a common future.
More than 1,400 years ago, the city of Medina demonstrated that social cohesion is not built by erasing difference. It is built by creating trust, justice and shared purpose across difference. For modern multicultural societies, including Australia, that lesson may be more relevant than ever.
Mainul Haque
Mainul Haque OAM is an economist and former senior Australian public servant with nearly 30 years’ experience shaping and analysing policy across government, academia, and the not-for-profit sector. He is a community leader, board member and non-executive director, and former ACT Multicultural Ambassador. He writes on social cohesion, migration, and public policy, grounding his analysis in practical experience.Mainul has held numerous board and advisory roles across Canberra’s community, education and multicultural sectors, and was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for his significant contribution to the ACT community.