Islamaphobia and Islamisation Tuesday, 2nd November 2010 The Rev Hon Fred Nile MLC, Leader of the Christian Democratic Party, gave the following address in the NSW Parliament: I wish to draw attention to, and contrast, two words that are being used regularly in our community: Islamaphobia and Islamisation. Some Australian citizens have been accused of Islamaphobia because they are critical of some aspects of Islam having read about a number of recent major court cases: one involving Muslims who have been charged with preparing terrorist suicidal attacks on buildings and on the Holsworthy Army Camp, and other events; another involving a Muslim woman who wanted to wear a burqa when driving a car; and another involving a Muslim woman who wanted to wear a burqa in court when giving evidence. They all generated considerable discussion in our society. When people, including myself, expressed concern about some of those events they were accused of Islamaphobia. We reject that false accusation, because Islamaphobia means a fear of Islam, said Rev Fred Nile. We have also been accused of racism. That too in this situation is not possible, as Islam is not a race; it is a religious political movement. Its membership comprises people from many different races. I, along with the majority of Australians, am completely opposed to racism in any form. Racism occurs when someone attacks a person because of his or race or the colour of his or her skin. Therefore one cannot be racist if one raises questions about Islam. Australians who are concerned about aspects of Islam do not fear Islam, although anyone in his or her right mind should be fearful of the potential threat of terrorism, especially given that more than 15,000 Islamic terrorist attacks have taken place since the 9/11 attack on the twin towers in New York. Dedicated Muslims carried out that attack as well as the attack on the plane that finally crashed to the ground. Recordings prove that when passengers of one of the airplanes that had been hijacked tried to retake the plane, and just prior to it crashing to the ground, Muslims terrorists were shouting Allah is great! Allah is great! Another term that warrants critical evaluation is what is described as the Islamisation of Australia. Australia has welcomed people from more than 150 nations, including members of various religions such as Buddhism, Judaism and Hinduism. To my knowledge people from those religions have never sought to impose their religion or culture on others in Australia; they have simply accepted their place in Australian society. It seems to me and to many others that Islamists are completely different; they believe that they have a right, indeed a direction from Allah through Mohamed, to impose their religious political system on all nations, including Australia. They have an evangelistic drive, as is evident at the moment in France, Holland, Germany and the United Kingdom, and it is causing a clash of cultures. What are some issues of concern that people raise with me? One particular matter is the establishment of Muslim prayer rooms in our secular universities. There are no Baptist or Catholic prayer rooms, but there are Muslim prayer rooms. They are now being established in our public schools as well. I am sure the Teachers Federation would strongly oppose it if the Catholics or Baptists demanded the same right. Another development is the establishment of chairs of Islam in a number of universities. A further development is the issue of halal food-food dedicated to Allah. Many products, such as Cadbury chocolate and Bega cheese-apparently there are more than 100 products-now have a halal label. Even McDonalds restaurants in the western suburbs sell halal hamburgers, with no bacon. In other words, we are adjusting our society to fit in with Muslim society. I call that Islamisation. Muslims are also demanding the opportunity to cease working and conduct their prayers five times a day in the workplace. This means that other employees will have to carry the extra workload. We have also debated the question of Bibles or Qurans in hospitals and chapels. These are very important matters that we should consider, Rev Nile stated.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 23:20:41 +0000
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