Australian attorney general: "There is no place for Sharia law in Australian society and the government strongly rejects any proposal for its introduction"

"Legal pluralism," the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils called it. They may win a prize for Euphemism of the Year, but their agenda is obvious: achieving a foot in the proverbial door for the introduction of "just a little" Sharia ("Just a little bit of peril!"), legitimizing the law in principle and providing the basis for continued expansion in the name of "tolerance" and "pluralism."

"What could be the harm in so little," they will ask, and accuse critics of alarmism and, of course, Islamophobia. Failing to submit to this proposal could be portrayed as a means of "alienating" Muslim "youth" and a source of potential "radicalization."

But it appears for the moment that this government has moved to stop this disaster before it can start. Not that we've heard the last of it, by far. "Govt says no to sharia law," from the Australian Associated Press, May 17 (thanks to all who sent this in):

The federal government has quickly moved to block any calls for sharia law in Australia.

In its submission to the parliamentary inquiry into the government's new multiculturalism policy, The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils has called for Muslims to be granted "legal pluralism".

Attorney-General Robert McClelland stomped on the request.

"There is no place for sharia law in Australian society and the government strongly rejects any proposal for its introduction," Mr McClelland told AAP.

Sharia has faced repeated criticism.

You can say that again.

It is again in the headlines following an Iranian court's decision to delay a planned "eye-for-an-eye" act of justice against a man who threw acid at a woman's face because she refused his marriage proposal.

"As our citizenship pledge makes clear, coming to Australia means obeying Australian laws and upholding Australian values," Mr McClelland said.

"Australia's brand of multiculturalism promotes integration.

"If there is any inconsistency between cultural values and the rule of law then Australian law wins out."

Mr McClelland is keen to assert Australia's position as a "stable democracy" where "rule of law" underpins society.

"People who migrate to Australia do so because of the fact that we have a free, open and tolerant society where men and woman are equal before the law irrespective of race, religious or cultural background."

Some of them migrate with the intention of coexisting while they have to, but with the aspiration of introducing an altogether different system.

« Previous Entry | Home Page | Next Entry »

16 Comments

| Leave a comment

Courreges W | May 17, 2011 5:28 AM | Reply

"Australia's brand of multiculturalism promotes integration"

Guess what - your multiculturalism is eventually going to be the end of you.

It's amazing how stupid people can be.

Proud_Kafir7908 replied to comment from Courreges W | May 17, 2011 5:39 AM | Reply

Not too long ago I read an article at Swissinfo, on a bought-and-paid-for "integration" survey, that put Sweden and the UK at the top of the list of "the most successful countries at integrating foreigners."

Not surprisingly, and the stench that comes from the second part of the survey makes it clear that it was something cooked up to make the promoters of cultural suicide look good and their opponents look bad, Switzerland and Denmark were at the bottom of the list. Never mind that their approach to integration, which has been shaping up to be more and more like "assimilate, or get the hell out", is the only one that truly works in practice.

Alarmed Pig Farmer | May 17, 2011 5:52 AM | Reply

As our citizenship pledge makes clear, coming to Australia means obeying Australian laws and upholding Australian values.

Which in turn means that no Australian leader insult the Oz citizenry's intelligencer by accepting false pledges from incoming Moslems, which is to say all Moslems.

Meeker | May 17, 2011 5:53 AM | Reply

Ausie JWrs should go to the "Australian" website with the story on this and add to the overwhelmingly negative comments on Patel's proposal. Also write to Assistant Treasurer, Bill Shorten, to argue against change of laws to allow Sharia Finance. You can also write to Simon Crean, who is a supporter of this guff, and to Gillard, while you're about it. (I've done all the above).
Aussie story:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/muslims-use-multiculturalism-to-push-for-sharia/story-fn59niix-1226057100331
Aussie pollies contacts at APH website. (aph.gov.au I think)

duh_swami | May 17, 2011 5:57 AM | Reply

Just a little sharia won't hurt you...

I am a vegetarian and have often been told, that a little meat won't hurt you...The problem with that is that meat eating, even a little, and vegetarianism are not compatible...
How could I call myself a vegetarian if I nibble on meat?
Meat eating destroys vegetarianism...and would make me a hypocrite...
A little sharia is the same...Sharia destroys democracy and freedom...sharia is not compatible, even in small amounts...
If you want to destroy America (or Australia) introduce sharia...How can we call ourselves free if we nibble on the evil and oppression of sharia?
So I say, no to sharia and no to those who push it...even in small amounts...

Anushirvan | May 17, 2011 5:57 AM | Reply

Euphemism indeed. Rest assured "legal pluralism" will prove to be the shortest route to instating Sharia compliant legal uniformity.

Courreges W replied to comment from Proud_Kafir7908 | May 17, 2011 6:27 AM | Reply

"the promoters of cultural suicide"

An apt description.

pdxnag | May 17, 2011 6:43 AM | Reply

The phrase "rule of law" is far too malleable.

It can also be asserted in Saudi Arabia where the Slave Trader's law is applied with a vengeance.

Rape is not rape.
Islamic Supremacy means equal rights.
etc.

Freedom means the absence of opposition to Islamic Totalitarianism, as defined by religiously inspired fanatics. A totalitarian can demand that the "rule of law" be applied.

Papa Whiskey | May 17, 2011 7:12 AM | Reply

"Legal pluralism" -- sounds like the Pact of Umar, which established the conditions of dhimmitude. In fine, Muslims have human rights and everyone else has none.

miriam rove | May 17, 2011 9:20 AM | Reply

looks like they are getting smart.
m

Battle_of_Tours | May 17, 2011 2:15 PM | Reply

"If there is any inconsistency between cultural values and the rule of law then Australian law wins out."

Same as the "Are you now, or ever had been, a Communist?" question, all Islam nationals should be asked these questions upon entry into any democratic free nation of the West, all requiring a "yes" answer:

1. Do you accept all religions as due equal respect, right to worship freely, including Christians, Jews, Bahais, Hindus, Buddhist, and others?
2. Do you respect the local and moral customs of the country you are about to enter?

3. Do you accept and respect the nation's laws, even if in conflict with your religious laws?

4. Do you accept the equality of men and women in all matters, including marriage or divorce?

5. Do you respect the rights of homosexuals, transexuals, as equal to all others?

6. Do you respect the rights of all religious minorities as equal before the law?

7. Do you accept the legitimate existence of Israel, as any other nation equally?

8. Do you accept personal choice in immodest dress for women in public places?

9. Do you reject the burqa and niqab on grounds it hides personal facial identity?

10. Do you accept legitimate inquiry and criticism of any religion, including cartoon images or destruction of text?

These are broad enough questions to highlight anyone, if answered truthfully, who may be suspect upon entry, though Islam/Koran/Sharia is never mentioned The answers should be filed with their Visa entry and retrieved in case of their wrongdoings. Three "no" answers are cause for return to point of departure; two "no" answers qualifies for a limited entry visa only, with surveillance; one "no" answer is cause for putting person on surveillance list. Any fraudulent answer is cause for immediate deportation, the fee of which is attached to their file, and no re-entry permitted until the fee is repaid. There can be other hard hitting questions, such as "Do you believe Saudi Arabia should allow Christians and Jews, and others, to worship freely?" That would have disqualified a lot of entrants into the US, Europe, Australia and New Zeland...including the spitting Wal-mart Saudi lady, but we're not there yet. We're still trying to 'multi-culturally' squeeze the very irregular "Religion of Peace" into a regular pair of shoes. Bad fit. Otherwise, "Welcome, enjoy your stay."

dumbledoresarmy | May 17, 2011 3:21 PM | Reply

Paging all Aussie jihadwatchers.

Besides the letter-writing that Meeker, above, recommends, I suggest a few more letters.

Email the Attorney-General and thank him for saying NO to this. He will encounter threats and also a lot of 'spin' from Muslims; do what you can to stiffen up his spine.

I will be making sure he gets a copy of Raymond Ibrahim's article on taqiyya; and a copy of the Barnabas Fund booklet about sharia, which makes it abundantly clear that sharia institutionalises **inequality**.

Also, email the Shadow Attorney-General and let *him* know what sharia is all about.

Make noise. Make LOTS of noise.

PJG | May 17, 2011 5:49 PM | Reply

What rubbish. The government is falling over itself to enable the Islamisation of Australia via sharia finance, halal certification, the generous funding of Muslim schools, pushing Islam into our classrooms, giving residency to Muslim thugs and liars, filling the Immigration department with Muslims...the list goes on. Now they say "We don't want sharia law?" Now they pretend to have a spine about Islamic marriage laws?
Unfortunately, many Australians are impressed, and it could help the government get re-elected.

The day before this, the leader of the Victorian Government called people (the ADL and supporters) "bigoted" for holding a demonstration opposing sharia law in Australia.

And, by the way, the very man in the AFIC who asked for sharia law (Ikebal Patel)said THE DAY BEFORE this news item, after the ADL protest, that the group was provocative and wrong to believe that most Australian Muslims wanted to bring in sharia law. "It's of great concern that anyone is out there trying to disrupt the peaceful social fabric of Australia," he said.

Unlike him, with his call for sharia law, which he is obviously aware is not popular with either Muslims or non-Muslims...!?

PJG | May 17, 2011 5:56 PM | Reply

Dda: I wasn't referring to you when I said "What rubbish"! I meant the A-G's words.

Tommo | May 18, 2011 2:08 AM | Reply

Sharia Law is already working in Australia as it is in Britain and other countries in the West where large numbers of Muslims have been allowed to settle. It is being managed from mosques and community centres in Muslim enclaves. In most cases it only applies to family disputes, divorce and inheritance issues which are all settled within the Muslim circle by Imams. It's impossible to stop Sharia from being practiced at this level. In Britain Gordon Brown allowed financial institutions to promote Sharia banking hoping to make London the Islamic the financial centre of the world. Instead he has managed to make it a hub of terrorist funding and attracted even more Muslim immigration than we had before.

Wowsher | May 18, 2011 3:05 AM | Reply

The AG's announcement has no validity under sharia law. Patel holds that the latter trumps the former everytime so he will ignore the Australian Government and will continue to chip, chip, chip away.

After all the former Deputy Prime Minister had said in 2006 that there was no place for sharia in Australia and sharia seekers should leave - http://www.jihadwatch.org/2005/08/get-out-if-you-want-sharia-law-australia-tells-muslims.html and http://www.jihadwatch.org/2006/02/australian-treasurer-go-elsewhere-for-sharia-law.html - yet here five years later he is gone and a Muslim leader is acting as though the statements were never made.

The frequency and stridency of these demands will continue, and intensify.

NOTE: The Comments section is provided in the interests of free speech only. It is mostly unmoderated, but comments that are off topic, offensive, slanderous, or otherwise annoying stand a chance of being deleted. The fact that any comment remains on the site IN NO WAY constitutes an endorsement by Jihad Watch, or by Robert Spencer or any other Jihad Watch writer, of any view expressed, fact alleged, or link provided in that comment.

FrontPageMag.com

Books by Robert Spencer

The Muslim Brotherhood in America, by Robert Spencer

Islamophobia: Thoughtcrime of the Totalitarian Future

Muslim Persecution of Christians, by Robert Spencer

The Ground Zero Mosque: Second Wave of the 9/11 Attacks

“My comrade-in-arms, my pal, my buddy.”
— Oriana Fallaci

“Robert Spencer incarnates intellectual courage when, all over the world, governments, intellectuals, churches, universities and media crawl under a hegemonic Universal Caliphate’s New Order. His achievement in the battle for the survival of free speech and dignity of man will remain as a fundamental monument to the love of, and the self-sacrifice for, liberty.”
— Bat Ye’or

“Robert Spencer is indefatigable. He is keeping up the good fight long after many have already given up. I do not know what we would do without him. I appreciate all the intelligence and courage it takes to keep going despite the appeasement of the West.”
— Ibn Warraq

“America's most informed, fearless, and compelling voice on modern jihadism.”
— Andrew C. McCarthy, Senior Fellow at National Review Institute

“Robert Spencer is the leading voice of scholarship and reason in a world gone mad. If the West is to be saved, we will owe Robert Spencer an incalculable debt.”
— Pamela Geller, Atlas Shrugs

"The consummate Islam critic and expert." — Bruce Bawer

“Over the years, we have become friends, and I have received his assistance on several pieces of legislation I proposed.”
— Former Congressman Tom Tancredo

“Few people are capable of applying scholarship, analytical reasoning, and objectivity to their topic -- while simultaneously being readable and witty -- as can Robert Spencer.”
— Raymond Ibrahim

“A national treasure...The acclaimed scholar of Islam.”
— Frank Gaffney, Center for Security Policy

“I am indeed honored to call him my friend.”
— Brad Thor, novelist

“A top American analyst of Islam....A serious scholar...I learn from him.”
— Daniel Pipes

“A brilliant scholar and writer.”
— Douglas Murray

"One of my best teachers."
— Ashraf Ramelah, Voice of the Copts

“Thank God there’s at least one man with balls left in the West.”
— Kathy Shaidle, Five Feet of Fury

“I read people like [Mark Steyn] and Bob Spencer and the rest of them, and I say, ‘Boortz, you’re pretending you’re an author. These people really are. They really write some entertaining, some standup stuff.’”
— Neal Boortz

“Robert Spencer is the Stephen King of Jihad.”
— Chris Gaubatz, Muslim Mafia

“Armed with facts and fearlessness, Spencer stands up for Western civilization.”
— Michelle Malkin

“Widely read in conservative foreign policy circles.”
— New York Times

“Widely read in many quarters in Washington.”
— Washington Post

“A canny operative who likely has the inside track on the State Department’s Middle East affairs desk should the tea party win the White House.”
— New York Magazine

“A hero of the American right.”
— Karen Armstrong

"The leading anti-Islamic intellectual in the United States....The go-to Islam expert for the right wing."
— Salon Magazine

“Robert Spencer is an Edward Said turned upside down.”
— Stephen Suleyman Schwartz

“One of the nation's most notorious Islamophobes.”
— Hamas-linked CAIR

"Geller and Spencer are probably the most important propagandizing Islamophobes in the world. These people's voices speak very loudly — not just here in the United States but overseas."
— Heidi Beirach, Southern Poverty Law Center

“Satanic ignoramus.”
— Khaleel Mohammed

“The Likud anti-Christ.”
— Dar al-Hayat newspaper (Saudi Arabia)

“Zionist Crusader, missionary of hate, counter-Islam consultant.”
— Al-Qaeda’s Adam Gadahn, “Azzam the American”