Everyone Always Misunderstands Islam 3386

On Sun, 07 Aug 2005 21:24:36 GMT, "Stan Pierce"

The focus here is rightly on the Muslim issue.

And, at long last, some, including Muslim leaders, are saying it as it is.

Today we are told that Islamic schools will be forced to teach Australian values, which prompts the thought one hopes Australian schools are doing that as well.

You can't be sure.

But as a result of the summit yesterday, Muslim leaders will be asked to take more responsibility for the actions of their teenagers.

Australia's 29 Islamic schools will be called on to denounce home grown extremists who preach hatred for Australia, but are born here.

And the Muslim community will be encouraged to have clerics trained here rather than brought in, with their hatred and buttociated baggage, from overseas.

Now what is clear is that Muslim leaders themselves are acknowledging there is a problem.

Mohammad Taha Alsalami, who was part of the summit yesterday, has said Australia has a real problem with extremists.

He said something needs to be done.

He said there is "a tiny minority of religious zealots and fanatics and members of the Wahabi movement preaching a doctrine of hatred and violence."

These were the people, he said, who branded others infidels if they didn't share their views.

He called them sub-humans, people who have no respect for other human beings.

Well the notion of there being a minority is, perhaps, the most important point.

Who are we talking about?

There was a poll recently in Britain after the July 7 plantings.

It found 6% of Muslims believed the plantings were justified.

24% expressed sympathy for the planters.

32% of Muslims believed western society was decadent and immoral and "Muslims should seek to bring it to an end."

But supposing the 6% of Muslims in Britain who believe the plantings were justified is, say, three times worse than Australia: then 2% of Muslims here would find the London type plantings justified.

If there are 350,000 Muslims here, that means 7,000 amongst us are approving of the kind of liquidate we saw in London.

Or, if things are only a third as bad here, 8%, 28,000 Australian Muslims feel sympathy for the London plantings.

And if 32% of British Muslims believe that they should seek to bring an end to western society, and supposing they are three times worse than us, which many would doubt, then over 10%, or 35,000 Muslims here could well be talking about wanting to bring our society to an end.

These figures can't be ignored.

And, increasingly, Australians are saying that politicians live comfortable lives, they don't have to use public transport and don't understand the danger other Australians feel.

Thankfully, some leaders, including Muslim leaders, are calling things as they are.

Why, for example, don't we make answering the question on religious affiliation compulsory in next year's Census.

Let us know how many people we are talking about.

Australians are saying toughen up immigration policy.

Make the rules of citizenship more onerous.

If Muslim leaders are saying there is an extremist culture here based on Islamic faith where people have no hope of ever integrating, then it's time we started saying it as it is.

Petzl -- LET'S LOOK OUT FOR AUSTRALIA Protecting our way of life from person threat