Bravo, Mister Akerman!

Refreshing to see the somewhat maligned and sidelined "mainstream
media" taking the threat of Islam seriously. The old "Telly" isn't
completely toothless.

(In the Sydney Daily Telegraph)

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http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/opinion/story/
0,22049,20433153-5001031,0 0.html

Do not cave in to hate bigots

By Piers Akerman

September 19, 2006 12:00

TWELVE months ago, the states, territories and Federal Government agreed 
to prepare a national plan to "help all Australians work together to protect 
Australia from intolerance and extremism".

With the help of the Prime Minister's Muslim Community Reference Group, a 
$35 million program was developed and, two months ago, approved.

It is aimed at coming to grips with extremists and includes a proposal for 
a world-class institute of Islamic studies, within a faculty of a prominent 
Australian university, to increase non-Muslim understanding of Islam.

It is to be hoped that some non-Muslim authorities are employed and that 
some of the self-appointed leaders of our Muslim communities enrol and are 
obliged to confront the realities of those Koranic texts which Islamofascists 
use to justify their insane violence.

One who might benefit is Forum on Australia's Islamic Relations Inc 
executive director Kuranda Seyit, who yesterday issued a statement calling 
for more Muslim migration to Australia to "improve the level of decency in 
our society and reinforce our treasured Australian values''.

"The more Muslims the better this country is off in terms of good old 
fashioned decency. We should be so lucky,'' he said.

Given the outrageous and bloody responses to the Danish cartoons last 
February and the lethal and destructive outbreak of hysteria across the 
Islamic world triggered by the scholarly address on the nature of God 
delivered by Pope XVI last Tuesday, which has not been condemned by 
anyone of any significance in the Australian Muslim community, it is 
hard to imagine what values Seyit could possibly have in mind.

As Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs 
Andrew Robb told a conference of Australian imams in Sydney on Saturday, 
there is a "world-wide struggle going on for the soul of Islam, a struggle 
that will be won or lost by Muslims, not non-Muslims."

[...]

To blindly cave in every time a Muslim, or anyone else, gets excited
about something someone has said in the most restrained and decorous
manner is to indulge in the same sort of supine, spineless attitude
that prevailed at Munich in 1938.

And to ignore those who preach hatred, no matter their religion, is 
to play Russian roulette with civilisation. 

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Cheers, Steve..

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