Why Isn't This News?

One might think that with an American media so attuned to listening to what our friends, allies and even enemies in the International community have to say, we'd see more than a handful of Google News references to a recent exchange between a radio show caller and the Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

"There is a section, a small section of the Islamic population, and I say a small section, which is very resistant to integration."

"Fully integrating means accepting Australian values, it means learning as rapidly as you can the English language if you don't already speak it," ...

"And it means understanding that in certain areas, such as the equality of men and women ... people who come from societies where women are treated in an inferior fashion have got to learn very quickly that that is not the case in Australia."

If we hear anything, I suspect it'll be more about the moderate Muslim groups and government advisors now condemning the speech.

Meanwhile, Michelle Malkin brings you up to speed on the latest regarding the San Francisco road rage incident.

And Allah's gifts include a mention of weapons-grade Uranium being found in Iran.

Just in case you needed something to ponder tonight.

Comments

[Bugler]

This related article provides more information on the Howard government's more assertive position toward Muslims:

http://www.freemuslims.org/news/article.php?article=875

It appears the Howard government has made a decision to present a united front with regard to Muslim assimilation. It's encouraging to me that they're explicitly proscribing Muslim practices that are antithetical to secular democracy, and inviting all Muslims unwilling to comply to move elsewhere.

The linked article cites an AFP report that I don't have. I'll try to find it.

[coconuttree]

What an arrogance of these descendents of British criminals. They stole Australia from the Aboriginals and now they want to keep other cultures out. THey better shut up, or return to Europe.

[rwilymz]

"THey better shut up, or return to Europe."

And what would we call that? "Zionism" is taken.

Since arguably the lion's share are descendants of East-Enders, do we Partition Stepney from Whitechapel? toss the Cockneys out on their ear? wot?

Blimey, mate! Ye know wot yer suggestin' doncha?

[Patrick]

Howard is right. Muslims who can adjust to living in modern Western societies are welcome; those with extremist views and medieval attitudes are unwelcome, and should be made to feel unwelcome.

The only major immigrant group in Australia that has a high rate of unemployment and crime is the Muslims (mostly Lebanese Muslims). There were several instances where Lebanese Muslim gang members gang-raped non-Muslim girls, plus the revenge attacks after the Cronulla riots (which also included an attempt to firebomb a church with a Christian Arab congregation.)

Plus you have violent Muslim extremism- there were bomb plots in Sydney and Melbourne involving Muslims (both Lebanese immigrants and Australian converts) and al-Qaeda literature being distributed in Australian mosques. Bali bombing targeted Australian tourists.

BTW, Australia is a diverse country, it is not just Aborigines, Muslims, and Anglos. There are a lot of Asians (mostly Vietnamese and Filipinos), a lot of Southern and Eastern Europeans (Greeks/Italians, Yugoslavs), and a lot of Lebanese Christians.
Asians (who were kept out under the White Australia policy until the 1960s) and Lebanese Christians have been very successful in Australia, and prejudice against these groups has mostly died out.

As for issues like treatment of women and demands for sharia, Muslims need to adjust to the reality of living in the West- things like forced marriage are not acceptable. The culture needs to change, and if they aren't willing to change certain aspects of it, they have no business living in Western countries.

And you, coconuttree, have no more right to blame today's Australians for the treatment of the Aborigines in the 19th and early 20th centuries than I do to blame today's Muslims for the genocide of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.

[thejohnson8]

I don't see what is so terrible about what he said. Is it not true? He wasn't saying they must do these things or else. He was stating a fact. Those that are so bothered by it should maybe examine themselves and their motivations for being angered by it. How has, what is supposed to be such a gentle and pure religion, caused such chaos and hate in this world?

[jj]

We in Michigan have a very large Muslim population. One characteristic they all seem to share, however, is a lack of desire to assimilate. This can be demonstrated by a simple lack of desire to marry women who were born in America. The majority of Arab men choose to marry someone from their own land. They do not recognise our laws, however, so they have a marriage but without the benefit of a marriage license. When children are born to this union, the "single" mother can and does apply for WIC and other subsidies. Also, since the mother does not speek English, the child learns the mothers tongue as his first language. There are many more examples that I could give that would demonstrate the lack of willingness to become American, but why bother. The government does not seem to care, and they have Michigan congressmen unwilling to say that Hezbollah is any problem.