ISLAMIC SPOKESMAN ATTACKS WESTERN DEMOCRACY

A spokesman for international Islamist group Hizb Ut-Tahrir has said democracy is an illusion and that the government is forcing moderate Islam on Australian Muslims.

Uthman Badar told the Today show the illusion of secular democracy "short-sold the people".

"I think people have come to see that democracy is more of an illusion in that it secures the interests not of the people but of the economic elite," he said. "What we're saying is the secular democratic process has short-sold the people and it's better that people go back to the grassroots."

Mr Badar said the government was funding inter-faith dialogues and institutions in Sydney and Melbourne that promote moderate Islam.

"All people should accept that it's not acceptable for a state to tell people this is what you should believe and this is what you should not believe," he said. "The issue is the government should not be taking sides in saying 'This is the Islam we have chosen for you — it's a secular, apolitical, localised Islam'.

"'If you do anything else, here's the anti-terror laws, we're going to chuck you in jail.'"

More than 500 participants at a Hizb Ut-Tahrir conference in Western Sydney heard on Sunday that Australia was a "god-forsaken country" and that moderate Islam was a "perverted concoction of western governments".The group is banned in many parts of the Middle East but operates legally in Australia and in 40 other countries.

Hizb Ut-Tahrir supports the establishment of a Islamic state but rejects the use of violence to achieve it.

Comment : This suggests that Islam will not tell you what to do but we all know different.

Article by Aussie Del

NSW to ban burqa / Australian Crime Database

It looks like New South Wales is set to ban the burqa. The following is an email sent to me by Derek in Australia...

NSW Bill to Ban the Burqa

On Line Vote 86% for 14% against.

Christian Democratic Party MP Fred Nile has succeeded in introducing a bill to ban the wearing of the burqa in the NSW Upper House.

Mr Nile introduced his private member's bill, seeking to ban the wearing of the burqa and other face veils in public, shortly after 8pm (AEST) on Tuesday. Last month, a debate on the same bill was voted down by the NSW Upper House.

Greens MP John Kaye said only the four Greens MPs and Family First MP Gordon Moyes voted against introducing the bill on Tuesday.

"Last month the coalition and the government did the right thing and said no, they would not allow the Upper House to be home to this kind of racist dog whistling," Mr Kaye told AAP on Tuesday. "This time they caved in." Mr Kaye said Mr Nile's bill has opened the door to a "dangerous and divisive attack on one of NSW's communities".

"Letting loose the ugly bigotry that lies behind this bill will only encourage hostility to the Muslim community," he said. "While no woman should be forced to wear a burqa or any other form of clothing, this absurd bill will do nothing to enhance the rights of women."

Mr Nile has denied the bill is racist, saying his concern lay with issues of security and women's rights. The bill has been adjourned until September 2010.

It is hardly surprising they want to ban them when you read stories like THIS

Keep them coming Derek ;)

While we are on the subject of New South Wales, KLA directed me to the Australian Crime Database Take a look, it's a prime example of how immigration enriches our lives.