A couple gazillion people sent me the story yesterday about the Australian council’s refusal to allow an Islamic school. I didn’t put it up, since council officials insisted that the refusal had nothing to do with resisting Islamic supremacism or preserving Australian culture. “The proposed development was flawed on environmental and planning grounds” — surmountable problems, no?
But now the Muslims behind the mosque are claiming, predictably enough, that the refusal was motivated by “racism.” What race is Islam again?
Both sides are talking past each other. One is talking about planning problems and the other about racism, when the real issue is, What are the intentions of Muslims in Australia regarding the eventual imposition of Sharia? But no one dares talk about that.
“Australian Muslim group says school refusal is ‘racist,'” from AFP, May 28 (thanks to all who sent this in):
SYDNEY (AFP) – An Australian Muslim group charged Wednesday that a Sydney council’s refusal to allow an Islamic school to be set up in its area was a “victory for racism”.
Camden Council, on Sydney’s south-western outskirts, unanimously rejected the application for a 1,200-pupil school on Tuesday night, prompting cheers from hundreds of residents who attended the meeting to oppose the plan.
While the council said the decision was based on planning issues, the proposal sparked ugly protests, including two pigs’ heads impaled on spikes at the school site last November with an Australian flag draped between them.
Muslim community organisation Forum on Australia’s Islamic Relations (FAIR) said it did not accept the council’s explanation.
“Planning grounds is only a smokescreen for the real issues which were related to community tensions and potential social upheavals if the school was approved,” executive director Kuranda Seyit said.
“I see this as a victory for racism.”
Yeah, sure, Seyit. Maybe if you and your coreligionists addressed the question of “potential social upheavals” honestly, you wouldn’t encounter so much “racism.”