Australia: Muslim anger erupts at Costello call to renounce terrorism

The Age ^ | 09/04/06 | Michelle Grattan

[Pikamax]

MUSLIM leaders have lashed out at Peter Costello, after the federal Treasurer called on them to condemn terrorism "unequivocally", and speak out plainly and clearly against radicals in their community.

Mr Costello said they should "make it clear to would-be converts that when you join this religion you do not join a radical political ideology".

But Muslim representatives said last night Mr Costello had not taken notice of what had already been said, and did not communicate with them.

Yasser Soliman, president of the Islamic Family and Childcare Agency in Victoria, said the Government's Muslim Community Reference Group had "pledged loyalty to this country and condemned extremism and terrorism". The Muslim leadership had done this repeatedly.

"Obviously Mr Costello is not in touch with the people he's talking about — he's never bothered to talk with them," he said.

Waleed Aly, board member of the Islamic Council of Victoria, said Muslim community leaders had been "speaking out unequivocally against terrorism pretty loudly and continuously for five years. If the Treasurer hasn't heard that yet, I'm not sure what it will take."

The chairman of the Muslim Community Reference Group, Ameer Ali, said Mr Costello's remarks were "provocative, divisive and mischievous".

Malcolm Thomas, president of the Islamic Council of Victoria, said Muslim leaders did condemn terrorism all the time. The Muslim leadership would like Mr Costello to meet with them. "He's been quite critical of the Muslim community but noticeable by his absence in any engagement," Mr Thomas said.

This is not the first time Muslim leaders have clashed with Mr Costello. They were angered by remarks he made earlier this year about Sharia law and other matters.

The latest Government pressure on Muslim leaders to step up their efforts against radicals comes after Prime Minister John Howard last week drew a sharp reaction from some Muslim leaders when he said a small section of the Islamic population in Australia "is very resistant to integration".

Fully integrating included learning English and treating women as equals.

Mr Costello said he agreed with Mr Howard.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, when asked about Mr Costello's comments, said that "if people choose not to denounce terrorism … that draws attention to them and people wonder why would somebody not renounce terrorism".

Mr Costello told Channel Nine a minority of Muslims had been radicalised, and sought to prey on young people "with a very radical and dangerous ideology".

"It is very, very important that the leadership in Australia are very clear and very precise that this is not really Islam … and that terrorists are always to be condemned."

Some radicals tried to "disassimilate" even those born in Australia, Mr Costello said. "We have seen in this country that would-be terrorists can be born in this country … and can fall under the influence of radicals, be disassimilated and turned to terrorist purposes. This is where we really need the Islamic leadership to stand up and … make it clear that terrorism is never justified under the cover of religion."

Andrew Robb, parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs said some Muslim leaders were their community's "worst enemies" because they fostered a "victim" mentality.

Mr Robb told The Age that the reaction of some Muslim leaders against the PM's comments was "reinforcing" that mentality.

[Fiddlstix]

1.) The appeasers would want to know why we weren't ahead
of the game to stop it.
2.) They would complain and whine that it's because of us
we were attacked again.

Right!
Bet On It!

[OldPossum]

Re your post 18: I think there is a certain segment (size undetermined) of the U.S. population that is so emotionally and intellectually dead that an atomic bomb erupting in the next city wouldn't wake them up.

[mosquewatch.com]

Is she 9 ? I am a good Muslim.......

[debg]

India Sudan Algeria Afghanistan Pakistan Israel Russia Chechnya Philippines Indonesia Nigeria England Thailand Spain Egypt Bangladesh Saudi Arabia Ingushetia Dagestan Turkey Kabardino-Balkaria Morocco Yemen Lebanon France Uzbekistan Gaza Tunisia Kosovo Bosnia Mauritania Kenya Eritrea Syria Somalia Kuwait Ethiopia Iran Iraq Jordan United Arab Emirates Tanzania Germany Belgium Denmark East Timor Qatar Maryl Tajikistan Nerls Scotland Chad Canada United States

[Howie66]

Personally, I think that the Capitol was the secondary target....the WH being the first.

In either case....had it made it's target, I do believe that the Blame America First appeasers would have been run out of town on a rail....

Maybe not, sadly.

I just hope and pray that we don't have a repeat performance anytime soon.

[Cobra64]

Send this guy over there. He'll clear it up in no time.

[Dark Skies]

Looks as though our leaders are following.

There is indeed a huge vacuum of leadership in the world. I believe Bush and Blair and Howard and Harper are doing a great job, but there is still a huge vacuum. Such a vacuum existed at the beginning of WWII (even greater then in the U.K.).

The world is at war and those who occupy the right side (and take the high road) will win in the end.

But I believe islam will put up a really nasty fight before it dies...and it will die because it is a lie. If islam would shut up and go along to get along, it could live. But that doesn't seem possible with islam. Islam seems to believe that it must dominate the world and I don't believe the world is going to accept that.

[D-Chivas]

What Peter Costello said about Sharia Law in 2005:

PETER COSTELLO: What I've said is that this is a country, which is founded on a democracy. According to our Constitution, we have a secular state. Our laws are made by the Australian 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. This is not the kind of country where you would feel comfortable if you were opposed to democracy, parliamentary law, independent courts and so I would say to people who don't feel comfortable with those values there might be other countries where they'd feel more comfortable with their own values or beliefs.

TONY JONES: It sounds like you're inviting Muslims who don't want to integrate to go to another country. Is it as simple as that?

PETER COSTELLO: No. I'm saying if you are thinking of coming to Australia, you ought to know what Australian values are.

TONY JONES: But what about if you're already here and you don't want to integrate?

PETER COSTELLO: Well, I'll come to that in a moment. But there are some clerics who have been quoted as saying they recognise two laws. They recognise Australian law and Sharia law. There's only one law in Australia, it's the Australian law. For those coming to Australia, I think we ought to be very clear about that. We expect them to recognise only one law and to observe it.

Now, for those who are born in Australia, I'd make the same point. This is a country which has a Constitution. Under its Constitution, the state is secular. Under its constitution, the law is made by the parliament. Under its Constitution, it's enforced by the judiciary. These are Australian values and they're not going to change and we would expect people, when they come to Australia or if they are born in Australia, to respect those values.

TONY JONES: I take it that if you're a dual citizen and you have the opportunity to leave and you don't like Australian values, you're encouraging them to go away; is that right?

PETER COSTELLO: Well, 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.

[I see my hands]

Fact is the good guys are going to have to kill millions and millions or we die.

[monkeywrench]

I see them complaining that the President didn't implement all the 911 reports recommendations. The left wants this treated as a law enforcement issue with federalization of police forces and the whole 9 yards.

[mosquewatch.com]

Islam is getting ready to hit the fan

I want to play devil's advocate here.

How is Islam going to hit the fan?

[Grut]

Would it be ungracious of me to suggest that the "terrorism" these leaders denounce is whatever Israel and the US do?

[Scotsman will be Free]

I despise that buck toothed, rabbit fearing, assclown.

[outdriving]

The West begins to awaken.

It's been said before, but it needs to be repeated as often as the "Islam is the religion of peace" big lie.

Islam is fundamentally incompatible with secular, liberal Western traditions. This is not to say that secular, non-observant Muslims cannot be assimilated in small numbers.

But to allow Muslim immigration to the West in significant enough numbers to allow communities and political power to gain a foothold is cultural suicide.

[sageb1]

dar-al-islam

[blam]

Muslims have problems everywhere they are found.

[McGavin999]

I think the whole world is fed up with the "poor me" attitude of the Muslims leaders and have about had it with the demands for special privilages and the failure to stand up and take responsibility for the demented terrorists and do something about it.

You can feel it building, the world is getting ready to shout a collective "SHUT UP!"

[mosquewatch.com]

Muslims have problems with non Muslims everywhere they are found.

;)

[sageb1]

And we can't wait until alternative energy sources are in place.

[SpaceBar]

Newspeak: rabble-rousers = leaders