Australian Islamist Monitor

This month we have 3 excellent candidates:

1. Al Age, for reproducing Emma Brocke's article from the Guardian, demonising Aayan Hirsi Ali.

Hirsi Ali...is a writer, polemicist and critic of Islam. She is also a Somali immigrant, a former Muslim, a survivor of child genital mutilation, an exile many times over, a former Dutch MP, a black woman whose language would not, in places, look amiss in a far-right pamphlet, a remarked-upon beauty and a lady-in-peril - identities that lend her as a figurehead to disparate causes and bring on confusion in the people she meets.

 

 

Hirsi Ali can, she has said, make statements that a white person simply could not: on the ''dangers'' posed to the West by not just radical but regular Islam; on the ''backward'' nature of the religion; on how ''terrible'' the Koran is; and, in the most startling argument of her new book, Nomad, how Muslims would do well to learn from Christianity.

...she works in Washington for the American Enterprise Institute, a right-wing think tank, contributing papers on how the failures of multiculturalism have allowed for the rise of Islamic extremism in the West.

The accusation that most irritates her - that the events of her life have left her ''traumatised'' and an easy pawn for right-wing politicians - is, she says, a sexist presumption. And yet the suspicion remains: that those convictions one arrives at and fights hardest for, via fraught personal experience, are emotional, not rational, and as such beyond reach of most useful debate.

Her critique of Islam as a ''moral framework not compatible with the modern Westernised way of living'' is rooted in a critique of her family, her father's unbending will and particularly her mother, ...........

The phrasing she uses is startlingly direct. When she writes that ''violence is an integral part'' of Islamic social discipline, or that ''Muhammad's example is terrible, don't follow it'', it is deliberately, almost narcissistically, provocative, the result, one imagines, of a siege mentality and the defensive self-assurance that goes with it. To Hirsi Ali, the act of speaking out...seems to be almost a pathology.......

Hirsi Ali proposes an ''enlightenment project'' in which ''critical thinking'' be introduced to her former faith through various mediums, one of which is the Christian church. ''That's probably going to be the most controversial,'' she says, smiling. I'll say. Even if it didn't ignore the baggage of 1000 years of history - the Crusades, anyone? Colonialism? - what is an atheist doing promoting Christianity? .....

THE film Hirsi Ali made with Theo Van Gogh, broadcaster and provocateur, was intended to symbolise what they saw as misogyny within Islam...As Ian Buruma reported in his excellent book Murder In Amsterdam, when a Dutch news program aired Submission to Muslim women in a shelter for victims of domestic violence, they were by and large appalled...her style, and her choice of cohort, offended them. ..... (source)

Brocke's disrespectful, sarcastic and condescending tone throughout the interview are disgraceful.

She seems to suggest that Hirsi Ali can't think rationally because she has been a victim of abuse, and launches personal attacks rather than rebutting her claims.Yet Hirsi Ali displays no symptoms of trauma, but presents rational arguments against Islam throughout, more weighty because they are formed through knowledge and experience.

Brocke savages Hirsi Ali as being "deliberately, almost narcissistically provocative, the result, one imagines, of a siege mentality and the defensive self-assurance that goes with it....the act of speaking out, of saying what no one else will say, seems at this stage to be almost a pathology; to override all other considerations. "

And why does Brocke put inverted commas round a factual account of Hirsi Ali's cousin's life - a virtual "prisoner", encased in a "black shroud", as well as when she describes Islam as backward and terrible?

Why do leftie journalists attack Hirsi Ali? Is it because most are dhimmis who genuflect to Islam and she turns upside down their cosy assumptions about multiculturalism.

2. The Australian Curriculum Studies Association, for forcing Islam into our schools.

A new resource to address the "unacceptable levels" of prejudice against Muslims by Australian secondary school students has been designed by experts at the University of Melbourne. Professor Shahram Akbarzadeh, Deputy Director of the University’s National Centre for Excellence in Islamic Studies (NCEIS), says a recent study found Australian years 7-12 students saw Muslims as unclean and prone to violence, views consolidated by the the ripple effects of the September 11 attacks and the media coverage of the ‘war on terror’.

This led Akbarzadeh to initiate an ambitious educational project aimed at teachers who bear the greatest responsibility in instilling a culture of tolerance and mutual understanding in the classroom. The new resource - Learning from One Another: Bringing Muslim Perspectives into Australian Schools - was written by the Dr Eeqbal Hassim and Jennet Cole-Adams, and is published by the National Centre of Excellence for Islamic Studies in collaboration with the Australian Curriculum Studies Association.

The book provides teachers with lesson plans, worksheets and information on the cultural practices and attitudes of Muslims as well as details about the Islamic world’s contributions to mathematics, philosophy and architecture. It also offers teachers very practical suggestions about how to respect Muslim cultural beliefs while still engaging students in school activities, such as inviting fasting Muslim students to help with the organisation and administration of PE classes rather than active athletic participation, or English tasks that suggest replacing words like "fanatical" with "devout", or "Sharia" with "Islamic Law".

Akbarzadeh says that Islam has for too long been identified with terrorism and social problems, a simplistic view that reinforces stereo-types.

"In reality, Muslims are like followers of any other religion. There are good ones and bad ones. The collective punishment of all Muslims based on the behaviour of a few makes as much sense as blaming all Irish Catholics for the terrorist acts of the IRA."

He says the role of Muslim scholars in developing algebra, astronomy, medicine and chemistry, the role of the Muslim world as a repository of knowledge during the Dark Ages in Europe, and the contemporary contribution of Muslim citizens of Australia would be very suitable topics for the school curriculum. (source)

We are assured that:

Whether your school has one or many Muslim students, this resource will:

● provide avenues for you to introduce Islam and Muslim related content
in your classrooms

● equip you with the skills to meet the needs and expectations of
Muslim students and their parents in education

● facilitate a whole-school approach to supporting healthy relationships
and engagement with Muslim students, parents and communities

● develop an appreciation of Muslim history and cultures in Australia. (source)

That's great. No school is too small that it can't be enlightened by Islam!

Al Age's Insight (Saturday 15 May) had a full page spread, Teaching the 'other', by Mary-Anne Toy, praising co-author Eeqbal Hassim:

"Young, passionate, gifted and religious, Hasim is passionate about reducing the mutual misunderstandings between Australia's Muslim minority and the predominant culture through education...This month he and Cole-Adams begin a series of national workshops to educate non-Muslim primary and secondary teachers about the challenges of reaching and teaching Muslim students.
Hassim is confident that ignorance - rather than any fundamental incompatibility - is the only real barrier between harmonious relations between Muslims and non-Muslims.

Asked about the biggest and most dangerous stereotype of Muslims, he nominates "that Muslims want to the different", to have their own system of law, government, dress differently and not to integrate. Having said that, Hassim agrees that there are some Muslims who do want that. "... there are a handful of Muslims who do want to be different and we need to accept that...but they're not the majority and the biggest opponents to these people are Muslims themselves."

"Our government wants to see us as an Asian country. Asia is where most of the world's Muslim actually live... yet when we talk about being literate about Asia, we don't talk about being literate about Islam."

How dare our Curriculum planners foist Islamic propaganda on our school kids, and force teachers to tell lies about Islam's great contribution to civilisation.

 

3. Gold Coast mayor Ron Clarke, for his commitment to Islamic education.
(with thanks to Neil Waldron)

Way back in 2008, Clarke went into bat for Islam.

From ABC Online:

MARK COLVIN: There's been another outbreak of community ill-feeling over plans for an Islamic school on Queensland's Gold Coast.

NICOLE BUTLER:
...hundreds of Gold Coast locals swarmed city council headquarters to protest against the planned Muslim school at Carrara...

Mayor Ron Clarke says he's been shocked by the rallies.

RON: Very disappointed. I mean we have a very good mix of multicultural society here. We've 80 odd different ethnic groups...121 different languages spoken here on the Gold Coast and we've never had any problem whatsoever with any of those groups.
To have some people, mainly Australians unfortunately, protesting, seems to me so undemocratic.

NICOLE It's proposed the Islamic college will be built in a house on 10 hectares of land. But first it needs council approval on a number of town planning issues. Public submissions can also be made. But Councillor Clarke says he won't be considering all the issues raised by protesters.

RON: Why people would try and copy overseas banning of people's institutions just because they're different to a particular government's philosophies...it certainly should not happen in Australia and I'll have no part of it.
... The unfortunate thing about all this protest means that it would appear if the planners don't agree with it, for perfectly legitimate reasons, that we've bowed to public pressure... The officers are going to judge it on its own merits...But it certainly almost forcing us to lean backwards not to judge it on its merit but to pass it no matter what.

NICOLE : One of the college's trustees Keysar Trad says fears the school promotes segregation and extremism have already been disproved.

KEYSAR: We are very open to taking in students of all different backgrounds, regardless of whether they have any religion or no religion. Our teachers are people of different faith traditions and last year our principal was a Christian principal...we are open minded and inclusive.

NICOLE : Keysar... says the Muslim community has been shocked and saddened by the Gold Coast protests.

KEYSAR: It's the sort of thing that makes us want to weep for our children; that they're being exposed to this and that people are making all these unfair associations.(source)

Funny how Clarke seems to think public protest is undemocratic. He was determined to support this madrasa, despite multiple warnings of what is taught there and over whelming opposition to it, following the dhimmi line that anyone objecting to it is racist, bigoted and Islamophobic.

Clarke, formerly a Olympic champion, is on track to Islamise the Gold Coast:

ANGRY Gold Coast residents say a planned Islamic school at Carrara could turn the area into a ghetto capable of breeding terrorists.

Nearly 200 residents armed with Australian flags and placards marched on council chambers to voice their fears about The Australian International Islamic College, worried the school would create traffic problems, drop land values and that the Muslims would not integrate.
"We're looking for integration and education, not separation," said concerned Carrara Residents Group member Tony Doherty. "It doesn't matter where they come from, if they want to come here and live in Australia they should be part of the Aussie way."

When asked if residents feared the school could potentially breed terrorists, Carrara resident Mark Turner said: "Absolutely. What we see happening is property values will drop and the Muslims will come in and buy up the houses. The Aussies won't stay and it will become a Muslim community."

Ron Clarke said he wasn't interested in talking with angry residents.
"This is Australia, this type of stuff happens overseas, it should never happen here," he said. (source)

In January 2009 it was reported:

Ron Clarke has refused to back down over comments that Christians opposing a proposed Islamic school at Carrara are 'bigots' who have embarrassed the city.

...the founding pastor of the nearby Dream Centre church, Rodney Gilchrist, has described a meeting with Clarke, at which he was told that the school would proceed 'no matter what'.

Gilchrist said he was sick and tired of being branded a 'racist and a bigot' and has defended his opposition to the school. "The Mayor fobbed us off. I've run the church for 20 years and have never had a reception like the one I received from him. He was fairly naive and insensitive to the fact that he is a duly-appointed representative of our community.

"We're not bigots. We are a multicultural church and we're open to all faiths... (source)

The next month the Islamic school was approved:

Backers of a controversial new Islamic school are hoping sport can unite the community.
...the council suggested a sporting fixture could be a suitable way to promote harmony after the bitter wrangle.

A trustee of the Islamic school, Keysar Trad, warmly welcomed the idea.
"I personally welcome the idea of a cricket match. I'm a very gentle bowler, the most gentle pace anyone's ever experienced."

Mr Trad extended an invitation to lunch to the pastor from the Dream Centre, many of whose members opposed the college.
"This is going to be the start of something wonderful for the Gold Coast." (source)

Despite their victory, the Muslims then went for total submission, playing the victim card:

OFFICIALS behind an Islamic school earmarked for the Gold Coast say the local council is discriminating against them for being Muslim.

The Gold Coast Islamic College has lodged a complaint with the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal over concerns surrounding criteria the council wants satisfied before granting approval.

The controversial school has polarised the Gold Coast, culminating in a racially fuelled protest rally late last year calling for the project to be scrapped.

The council has already given preliminary approval to the school, but officials are unhappy at some of the demands, including road setbacks, the construction of a footpath and having to apply 30 days in advance before staging any weekend activities on-site.

School trustee Keysar Trad said "We believe we are only being discriminated against because we are the friendly neighbourhood Muslims...No other school has to meet these requirements."

Ron Clarke said any notions of religious discrimination were ridiculous.
"The terms are the same for anyone. We had meeting after meeting with them to resolve this and we are not the ones who delayed it. They are." (source)
 

Methinks Ron might finally get it - the more appeasement, the more demands Muslims make.
But he's dug the hole now, and can't get out of it. Neither can the unfortunate Gold Coast residents, who will be forced to live with the consequences of allowing Islam in.

So, which one of these fine examples of dhimmitude will get your vote?
Please vote and help to spread the word. Remember, by spruiking for Islam, dhimmis are helping to destroy our freedoms and democracy..
They must be exposed.
SAY NO TO SHARIA IN AUSTRALIA!