Robert Spencer in Sydney, November 29, 2011
by Assad Elepty
Robert Spencer, who has written 10 books and hundreds of articles on the nature of Islam and the threat it poses to western societies, spoke in central Sydney to a packed audience on the evening of November 29, 2011. He has already spoken in Perth, Brisbane and Melbourne and has given radio interviews while in this country.
He was introduced by Vickie Jansen of the Q Society.
Robert spoke for over an hour and then answered many varied questions from his audience about the nature and aims of Islam. In his talk Spencer referred to the Jihad by stealth approach by Muslims in Australia, noting that this is the first migrant group which has no intention of assimilating in the host country. He said that Muslims constitute the first immigrant group with a notion of ‘superior governance’ to the existing society of the host country. They see it as a ‘divine responsibility’ to emigrate — just as Mohammed moved from Mecca to Medina with the intention of establishing Shariah law as an eventual aim wherever they are. This is not a question of race — for both Hindus and Pakistanis, who shared the same country until the middle of last century, were racially similar. However there has never been an attempt by Hindu immigrants to establish a Hindu worldview as the sole approach to life in Australia. Islam, on the contrary, has the aim of fighting [this is the meaning of ‘jihad’] from without or within a society to establish Islamic Shariah law there.
Spencer observed the assymetrical nature of the battle with Islam, in that if one dares to complain about the Islamisation of the country, one’s facts and observations are not listened to; one is immediately labelled ‘Islamophobic’. He said that a phobia is an irrational fear. But in the case of Islam there is a REAL fear of factually evident situations — e.g. terrorist killings, aggressive Islamist policies and refusal to integrate into a host country. He said that ‘hate speech laws’ are advancing in this country. They are really Islamic laws in that in Islam it is not for speaking the truth. You are punished not because what you have said is untrue, but for saying what is not permissible to say in Islam. The Islamic approach is ‘a polemic against Judeo-Christian society’ . Muslims deplore the division of politics and religion in the west. They state with pride that their ‘religion’ covers everything in life from everyday matters and all in the political sphere. Spencer says he is not here because he is into hatred of anyone — but because he loves truth, law and freedom and human rights. This is the essence of the Judeo-Christian tradition. The alternative to this is to grasp power over everyone and everything.
He said that the Koran’s Sura 3.110 says that ‘the best of People’ should rule the earth. The ‘best of people’ refers to Muslims and those whom Muslims rule, the Koran states, are to be ceaselessly subjugated. This differs from Christianity as the unbelievers are to be made to suffer in this life as well as in the next. While the God of the Christians says that ‘Vengeance is mine,’ in the Islamic system the Koranic mandate is that Muslims should rule and exact suffering on non Muslims and extract revenge on them for being non-believers. The purpose of the Muslims is to put an end to the rule of the unbelievers. Non-Muslims have NO rights. This motivated Abu Hamza, now in jail in Britain; from an excess of piety he injured himself while trying to construct a bomb to kill unbelievers. He was following the dictates of his ‘religion’. Shariah mandates a state of subordination of unbelievers. The tax or jizya — is the payment a non-Muslim makes to a Muslim for not killing him/her. Spencer likened it to paying protection money to the Mafia. There is nothing benign about it. Humiliation must accompany the payment of such a tax — whose alternatives are conversion or death. Spencer noted that work is not accorded the same dignity in Islamic societies as it in in the west. The result of work may be respected but not the actual act of work itself. Thus having dhimmis or host societies pay a jizya tax is a source of ready income for Islamic leaders as other kinds of work are not promoted or valued in Islamic countries. Spencer quoted that some Islamic leaders in the past did not want all the dhimmis to convert as they were needed to finance Islamic expansion. Using the tax system of another country is another example of using another’s money to finance the aims of Islam.
Spencer stated that it is the intention of the Islamic world that Islamic law is brought to the west. If there is a conflict between Australian law and Islamic law, the Australian law will in time give way, as national laws have in other countries.There are 100 shariah courts in Britain and over 850 Muslim no-go Zones on France. Spencer told the story of the Somali workers in the meat packing plant in the United States who insisted that they be given prayer time during factory hours. After a legal battle the prayer times were given which seriously disrupted the working of the factory and resulted in non-Muslim workers having to do extra work to cover the missed hours. When the non-Muslims insisted that they had the right now to work less hours as the Muslims were, they were refused that request. Only the Muslim workers were granted prayer time.
Spencer warned his audience to be vigilant for the signs of this jihad, signs such as
* halal tuckshops in government schools. This has already occurred a number of government schools.
* A ‘Muslim only ‘ approach to activities such as swimming. Insisting on ‘Muslim women only’ or ‘Muslim only’ swimming times.
* Organisations or councils boycotting Israel, while ignoring the crimes committed in Islamic states.
* Appointments of Muslim outreach officers in secular organisations.
* Lack of protest in the face of halalisation of Australian food.
Spencer encouraged others to speak in the name of freedom and democracy when they perceived their human rights were being attacked under the guises of stealth jihad. He said vigilance was required to recognise the doctrines, deceptions, subjugation and aggressive intent of Islam. He said to his audience — ‘Stand up without apology for the dignity of the human person and the freedom of conscience.’
Assad Elepty is a Coptic Christian human rights activist.