Posted on 08/25/2005 7:23:59 PM PDT by JOHN ADAMS
Wed Aug 24, 2:29 AM ET
SYDNEY (AFP) - Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law have been told to get out of Australia.
A day after a group of mainstream Muslim leaders pledged loyalty to Australia at a special meeting with Prime Minister John Howard, he and his ministers made it clear that extremists would face a crackdown.
Treasurer Peter Costello, seen as heir apparent to Howard, hinted that some radical clerics could be asked to leave the country if they did not accept that Australia was a secular state and its laws were made by parliament.
"If those are not your values, if you want a country which has Sharia law or a theocratic state, then Australia is not for you," he said on national television.
"I'd be saying to clerics who are teaching that there are two laws governing people in Australia, one the Australian law and another the Islamic law, that that is false.
"If you can't agree with parliamentary law, independent courts, democracy, and would prefer Sharia law and have the opportunity to go to another country which practises it, perhaps, then, that's a better option," Costello said.
Asked whether he meant radical clerics would be forced to leave, he said those with dual citizenship could possibly be asked move to the other country.
Education Minister Brendan Nelson later told reporters that Muslims who did not want to accept local values should "clear off".
"Basically, people who don't want to be Australians, and they don't want to live by Australian values and understand them, well then they can basically clear off," he said.
Muslim schools will have to denounce terrorism as part of an effort to stamp out home-grown extremism under measures announced after Howard's meeting with 14 Islamic leaders Tuesday.
The prime minister called the meeting in the wake of last month's London bombings by British-born Muslims, amid fears that Australia could be the target of a similar attack by disaffected members of its small Muslim community.
"The purpose of the meeting was to identify ways of preventing the emergence of any terrorist behaviour in this country," Howard told commercial radio Wednesday.
"You won't change the minds of people who are hardened fanatics and hardened extremists. You have to identify them and take measures to ensure that they don't become a problem."
Asked if he was prepared to "get inside" mosques and schools to ensure there was no support for terrorism, Howard said: "Yes, to the extent necessary".
Britain, shaken by the rail and bus bombings which killed 56 people, is debating new powers which could include closing mosques where clerics are suspected of supporting extremists and deporting those who glorify suicide bombers.
Australia, which like Britain has troops in Iraq, is also contemplating tougher anti-terror legislation. which will be debated next month at a meeting between Howard and leaders of state governments.
Meanwhile, an Islamic youth organisation that was not invited to Howard's Tuesday meeting said it would call an alternative conference -- on September 11 -- for what it says is the 80 percent of Muslims who were not represented.
The Affinity Intercultural Foundation (AIF) told national radio it wants to try to change the date's association with Islamic violence, and to highlight how mainstream Muslims have become victims of prejudice and bias.
AIF director Mehmet Saral said Muslims were feeling more victimised than at any other time in their history of living in Australia.
Some 300,000 Muslims make up just 1.5 percent of Australia's population of 20 million.
Clear and to the point. Islamic terrorists are seditionists.
Our Government is fair dinkum about this. No more mucking around!
"Basically, people who don't want to be Australians, and they don't want to live by Australian values and understand them, well then they can basically clear off..."
Sub "American" for Australian, "well then they can basically(using Eddie Murphy's voice Trading Places) GET THE F**K OUT!!!
Et tu, Georgie?
Too bad our government doesn't have to guts to do the same thing!
Would like to see every western State make similar statement.
Now if we could just get President Bush and Co. to the same thing. . .
WOW!
"If those are not your values, if you want a country which has Sharia law or a theocratic state, then Australia is not for you," [Treasurer Peter Costello] said on national television."
WOW!
This guy's swinging a set of stones. Glad to see somebody in the civilized world is. Now if only our cowboy could learn a lesson from down under...
Australia's approach makes sense ~ if someone wants Sharia law, they should be invited to go where that system is in place.
Good for you! If we were to hold our breath waiting for this to happen here, we would have been dead ten minutes ago.
Don't want to sound contentous but, it's "clear off," or more commonly "bugger off." Either way, it sounds like a political attitude that would be good for us to adopt.
Good for them. Wish our government could muster the balls to do the same!
Yahoo!!!!!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1469763/posts
Doesn't hurt to get the message out.
Secretary: "Mr President?"
President Bush: "Yes?"
Secretary: "You have a 'Mr. Costello' waiting in your office. Sounds Australian, sir! He says he has something for you."
President Bush: "Could you find out what it is?"
Secretary: "It appears to be a box with two round balls in it. He said you should borrow them."
Too true! A bowling ball bag would be more like it.
It's Sodd off.
Damned right it is. Its time we started sending some Radicals out of here. In fact its past time. Lets start with anyone who belongs to CAIR. Its also time we moved the ACLU crowd out.
I'm glad you did post this. Old news or not, it's the best news I've heard in a long time. Good for Costello!
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