Opinions?
 

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd - Australia

Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia , as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks..

Separately, Rudd angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques. Quote:

'IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali , we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians. '

'This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom'

'We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society . Learn the language!'

'Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.'

'We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.'

'This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, 'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE'.'

'If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.'

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Australia has a lot of problems with our old mufdi http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6086374.stm and apparently he's been up to his old tricks again. Mr Rudd is probably directing his comments to him and his followers rather than the thousands of muslims that live in harmony in Australia.

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I have to say I don't think it's directed solely at Muslims. As I read it, he is saying either join the community or get out. I don't disagree with that when you emigrate to a country. Maybe if a few other countries adopted the integrate or leave attitude, things wouldn't be so bad.

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That's one of those there e-mail thingies that has been round the houses several times.

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What a bunch of racists.

Brilliant though, why didn't we think of it first?

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How so? Surely if you elect to emigrate to a country it's acceptable for that country to expect you to integrate into the community.
By all means, preserve your own heritage, religion, beliefs etc, but also respect that you have chosen that country as your home and should also respect their heritage, religion and beliefs.
That's reasonable, isn't it?

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So why aren't we told to pray in mosques while we are here? The answer is simply that (unlike the Saudis), the UAE regime is mildly tolerant. Australia should be careful where its new policy is leading.

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maybe im on the wrong end of the stick but, i didnt see expats complaining when their muslim colleagues go off to pray during the day. Or during the holy month leave earlier than those not fasting....

I was reading about a head teacher who quit after there was outrage from Muslim parents because the head would not have a separate assembly for muslim children....

In some respects i agree that a country needs to keep its foundation otherwise where does it end....

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hey, the saudi's don't force you go to a mosque and pray either! (you just can't have any other religion here... :o )

assimilation has been a large feature in oz be it at the fore or in the background. (white australia policy, one nation party, cronulla riots, etc.) it's also a political tool used time and again by the prime minister of the time to redirect attention from other issues. it's all a bunch of hot air that panders to a fiercely-denied-but-ever-present sense of australian nationalism/patriotism/xenophobia/call-it-what-you-will that lurks beneath the surface.

what do you expect from a handful of people that live on a huge island and fear the unknown?

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I agree Shadya, the UAE is mildly tolerant. However, most people who come the the ME do so without the expectation that they will make a permanent home here. Nor do the expect that, if things go wrong, the Government will assist them to overcome any difficulties; Social Security, medical benefits, housing support.

The comparison between emigration, where there are expectations, and living in the Middle East are not relevant.

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Sorry, missed the sub text. :)

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Aaah, bollcocks; what was I saying about this place being no fun?

I'd deport anyone who has ginger hair and is under 5' 3" and wears plaid trousers. That's a lot of golfers...:p

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Have to agree with that - until the UAE comes up with the equivalent of a 'leave to remain indefinitely' visa and it's accompanying 'rights' then there can be no comparison as there are no immigrants here, just foreign guest workers.

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Oh, look:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/australia.asp

It says John Howard said it, and although the quotes are correct, they have been put together to give the misleading impression that it was the enacting of a formal policy.

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I kind of agree with it (however accurate it is)

I don't think it's racist. I think it's a bit of a cheek to move to a country and expect it to change for you. I think England, for example) has been a bit too tolerant in that regard. If you move to a country, you should try and fit in with the people and not expect them to make huge allowances for you. If they do (which is a bonus) then great.

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The reason the UAE and its ilk are so tolerant is due to the fact that they NEED these foreign workers....

If the foreign workers weren't needed, they would not be so tolerant...

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Australia is very tolerant and also quite a multicultural society. People cannot be discriminated against for any reason, gender, nationality or disability - it's illegal.

Living here, I wouldn't expect young girls to rip off their abayas and dress in thongs and boardies to accomodate me - however young girls in Australia are being raped by extremists and being told they deserve it because they don't dress appropriately. Groups of young men are killing each other in gang related violence simply because they don't like someone else's ethnicity and beliefs. I thnk that's the type of attitude our pollies are trying to stamp out.

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the aussie are about a subtly as a shit sandwich, but hey, I can't see what's wrong with that at all, the UK bend over backwards not to offend anyone and look whats happened there.

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i'm not sure about how much, in reality, oz is a 'multi-cultural society'. it's all very well to have laws making discrimination illegal, practice is a whole different kettle of fish.

oz has constantly discriminated and categorized migrants according to their cultural background and as a consequence, pockets (and dare i say some are approaching ghettos...) of people who identify as one ethnicity or another, form together. this was from the post-war migration period with suburbs, factories and communities formed around their country of origin. (various parts of the major cities such as brunswick, coburg, preston, western suburbs of sydney, central brisbane et al) it is even part of popular culture today (wog boy, romper stomper, tv programmes such as 'pizza', even 'chopper' are those that immediately come to mind) there are even a generation or two of migrants that don't speak english and haven't needed to due to the support in their communities. why has this been the case? why do people feel that they need such a common level of support? is it because laws can't help you integrate into a community where there is a language barrier and open discrimination? (a political party, 'one nation' and it's anti-asian policies, the consequences of the 'white australia' policy)

it is only when a disenfranchised group within the community seek solace in their enforced ethnicity and identification, that fundamentalism and extremism come to the fore. (bankstown (?) gang rapes by what the press identified as 'lebanese youth gang' even though all of the people involved were born in oz and the majority had no experience of any other country!!) and when these groups dare to disrupt the status quo, all hell breaks loose and the PM of the day makes some stupid wedge-politics statement about assimiliation.

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Australia in 2009 is a very different place to that of 1950 (thankfully). You only have to read the Australian section of this forum to see that it's not Australia forcing migrants to stick together these days - it's a choice made long before they hit Australian soil in a lot of cases.

One Nation - apart from some country rednecks, really how much support did they get from younger, educated, city dwelling Australians.

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go to a nightclub in any of the major cities, (now, in 2009) and grab a young bloke from 18 - 25 (the age of your average cronulla-riots participant) and ask him who he 'is' and you'll find that the majority of them identify themselves by their ethnicity. (greek, italian, 'lebo', croat, serb, maybe the odd 'aussie', etc.) ask the same bloke if he's ever been to the country that he identifies with and again, the majority will say 'no'. ask them who three of their friends are and who they would identify themselves with, my bet is again the majority say the same ethnicity as they are. and if you're looking for someone from africa, (someone to represent the number of migrants from somalia and ethiopia that came during the last 5x years) and you'll struggle to find them in the same club (odds are they won't get past the bouncers).

now this may be readily dismissed as not very representative and only a small portion of the community and therefore not relevant, but go further and look at the recent bush fires and the demographics of the poor people caught up in it. or look at the local footy club end-of-season trip that goes through the jewish community in caulfield as an 'ethnic tourist', hurling beer bottles and insults at the guys in 'funny hats', even how the jewish community is scrutinized when it raises concerns over some anti-semitic work/film, etc. even how one imam (yes, grand-mufti of a set of mosques in oz) is so closely watched for his every word, yet other minority/fundamentalists get barely a word printed about them (anti-immigration parties in WA, etc.)

there's a helluvalot of lip service paid to 'multi-culturalism' in oz, and yes, haven't lived there for a couple of years, but even when howard gets re-elected for, in part, the whole boat-people scandal (can't remember the name of the container ship involved), oz ain't no paradise of tolerance and "she'll be right, mate" virtues

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The UK can´t afford to offend anyone unfortunately.
25% of all the money in the UK is owned by foreign sources..