The gloves are off in a fight between Australian Prime Minister John Howard and the zealots among Australia's 300,000 Muslims whose rejection of secular society and the emancipation of women separate them from the 20 million population some have recently joined.
"It's not a problem that we have ever faced with other immigrant communities who become easily absorbed by Australia's mainstream," Howard said in remarks that were seen as dramatically resetting citizenship's default to give weight to responsibilities as well as rights.
"We want people, when they come to Australia, to adopt Australian ways," he said.
Howard was praised by fellow conservatives for not only confronting the radicals who espouse jihad but demanding that moderate Muslims stand up to them as well.
Keith Windschuttle, a critic of the color-blind immigration policy that in the 1970s replaced "White Australia," said Howard had at last stood up for mainstream Australia.
"For the past three decades, most members of our political class have been ensconced within the cultural relativism of multiculturalism," Windschuttle said. "If there has been a problem within an ethnic community, few leaders have ever blamed its members."
Howard was unequivocal in demanding change in what is a tiny fraction of the Muslim community. His was also a clarion call to the leaders of the moderate majority not to be intimidated by the radicals and to join him in persuading them to put up or shut up.
First to side with Howard was prominent Melbourne cleric Sheik Fehmi Naji El-Imam.
"If you live here, you have to keep [extremist views] to yourself," Fehmi said. "If you cannot keep it to yourself, then leave."
But his views were overwhelmed by more senior Islamic leaders. Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali, describing Howard as "childish, irresponsible and uninformed," said his comments would "only magnify the wave of antagonism and hate toward Muslims."
Al-Hilali, the imam at Sydney's largest mosque, portrayed Howard's remarks as an early salvo in a re-election campaign.
"The easiest ways to claim public votes these days is to attack Islam and Muslims," al-Hilali said.
It's true: terrorist attacks in New York, Bali and London have shifted the ground and Howard reflects a common view that Islamic extremism is a challenge to secular society that must be taken up rather than ignored.
Howard's view is that successive waves of immigrants -- a quarter of the population was born abroad -- have integrated into mainstream society. There have been 6 million arrivals since 1945.
Treasurer Peter Costello, widely expected to take over the leadership of the ruling Liberal Party in the next couple of years, has also challenged the extremists.
Affirming that Australia was founded on democracy, the rule of law and the separation of church and state, Costello said: "If those are not your values, if you want a country that has Shariah law or a theocratic state, then Australia is not for you."
Wassim Doureihi, an Islamic leader and anti-integrationist, said: "It's becoming more and more clear that the issue is Islam itself, not radicals or moderates."
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
CYBERSCAM: Anne, an interior decorator with mental health problems, spent a year and a half believing she was communicating with Brad Pitt and lost US$855,259 A French woman who revealed on TV how she had lost her life savings to scammers posing as Brad Pitt has faced a wave of online harassment and mockery, leading the interview to be withdrawn on Tuesday. The woman, named as Anne, told the Seven to Eight program on the TF1 channel how she had believed she was in a romantic relationship with the Hollywood star, leading her to divorce her husband and transfer 830,000 euros (US$855,259). The scammers used fake social media and WhatsApp accounts, as well as artificial intelligence image-creating technology to send Anne selfies and other messages
RSS