Populist Politics At Its Worst: Tony Abbott, Foreign Aid, Islamic Schools...

Tony Abbott has shown his true colours while simultaneously showing why he is unfit to be Prime Minister of Australia; he simply does not have Australia's long-term and strategic interests at heart. The man who wants to become the man who makes "shit happen" rather than just talking about when and why "shit happens" has decided that an easy and populist target for cuts to the foreign aid budget is a successful Australian program that helps build and fund Islamic schools in Indonesia.

This racist and xenophobic policy about flip was cased in a need to strengthen Australia's natural disaster relief fund coffers in opposition to the Gillard Labor Government's attempt to introduce a special tax levy to fund the AUD 5 billion in repairs that flooding has caused in Queensland.

To be honest, I would rather not pay the levy. But, also in all honesty, I would rather pay the levy than see an aid program that has Australia's long-term interests and security in the region at its core disbanded because we might have to pay a few extra dollars a week in tax.

The reality is that Australia's involvement in building and providing ongoing support and funding for the Islamic schools program in Indonesia is a positive one. These are schools that provide an alternative opportunity and an alternative message to those being offered by the pesantrens of the fundamentalist and radical fringe of Islamic belief populated by the likes of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir (Bashir).

The Abbott proposal is nothing short of a race-based policy that takes money from a program based on the difference of the recipients. It is justified through the use of terminology that makes it sound as if these schools, and the aid program itself, are primary supporters of an Islamist network intent on destroying the Australian way of life. One almost gets the impression that Mr. Abbott is suggesting that there should be some degree of moral outrage on the part of Australians that their tax money is being channeled to those hell bent on destroying us. This is populist rhetoric designed to play to the fears of a select group of Australians.

Unfortunately, the Prime Minister wannabe is misrepresenting the facts and by default the truth. These schools are Islamic schools. They are not Islamist. I would argue that there is a difference, at least in terms of the connotation of the two words. Islamic merely indicates that the underlying belief is Muslim in nature. Whereas, and in contrast, Islamist suggests that these schools are breeding grounds for some sort of fundamental revivalist and ultra-conservative Islamic belief structure that is a "clear and present danger" to our free democratic ideals. Mr. Abbott has chosen his words carefully and to play to the base fears of those receptive to his message.

The withdrawal of Australian aid to these schools is narrow-minded and a step backwards.

Tony Abbott has already proven that he is not the man Australia needs with his finger on the button when the shit really does happen.

Peace.

Raped by a Genie -- Indonesia

This is one of those stories where you find yourself sitting back in your chair as you read it and shaking your head incredulous to how creative some people are when they plan to do something wrong or have been caught out having done something wrong. I guess I will never be a novelist because it had never occurred to me that one could blame their raping of a 15-year-old student under their care on a genie that had not been fed in a while.

The story goes that a principle at an Islamic Boarding School in Tangerang, Banten, West of Jakarta, raped and impregnated a 15-year-old girl under his care. The young girl had not revealed the rape to anyone, but it became increasingly difficult for her to conceal her pregnancy.

The girl, who has been identified by the initials KHF, alleges she was raped by the principal. However, the principal has supposedly said that it was not him but rather the genie that did it. The principal, who has been identified with the initials HDN, allegedly told the girl that if she had sex with him or the genie, then the genie would give her special powers. The girl claims she rejected the genie principal's advances and in her embarrassment decided against reporting the incident.

It would seem that the genie was not to be denied. A few days later the girl again found herself alone with the genie principal. However, this time she claims that she became incapacitated in the presence of the genie principal and when she later regained consciousness she was sore in places where she should not have been sore.

This is where the story gets even a little more bizarre. The girl's parents confronted the principal, as you would if your daughter had told you she had been raped by her principal. However, the principal denied that he raped the girl, but apparently confessed to the parents that it was his pet genie that did it. And, that the genie probably did it because he had not been fed in a few months. But what is really weird is that the principal agreed to a DNA test and is seemingly pretty confident that the DNA results will prove that he did not do it and that the genie did.

Nah, if my understanding is correct then the genie sort of appears and takes over the body of the host and then has his way with the girl. If this is the case then I am thinking that perhaps the DNA of the host rather than the genie is likely to turn up in any subsequent DNA test. Then again, I am no scientist, so I do not know for sure how these things work.

I am wondering whether this is a confession that there have been other girls who have fallen victim to the hungry genie in times previous to this account.

Nevertheless, it seems that the principal has realized that the allegation of rape of a minor is a little more serious than he envisaged at first and he is now backing away from the genie claim. The principal is now suggesting that the young girl is pregnant to her boyfriend and in her embarrassment and shame on that front she is seeking to blame the principal for her troubles.

The Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (Perhimpunan Bantuan Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia Indonesia / PBHI) has taken up the case, and they have reported the alleged crime to the Indonesian police who are now reportedly investigating the claims. Perhaps they need to get a psych report done on the alleged perpetrator who seemingly thinks he is harbouring a genie or two.

Another interesting twist in this story is that the principal's family are now claiming that it is impossible for him to impregnate the young girl because he is a diabetic with extremely high blood sugar levels. And, the family claims, that it is a medical fact that diabetics cannot get erections. The family does not seem to be entertaining the idea that the genie did it either. But there have been no reports as to whether the genie is diabetic as well.

Apparently the DNA tests have been done and when the results come back from the lab, then it is expected that the families of the girl and the principal will have a clearer picture of what transpired or did not transpire. As will the police and just about everyone else following this story.

Islamic Schools -- A Victory for Common Sense?

The NSW Land and Environment Court has approved a development application to build an Islamic School in the Sydney suburb of Bass Hill. The Bankstown Council which had the authority to approve the application declined to do so. The reasoning for the failure to garner approval was allegedly traffic and noise concerns. Each of the concerns was listed in some 1800 objections that were lodged opposing the development. The failure to approve the development project also led to the appeal to the Land and Environment Court.

Although there were a considerable number of objections, it must be noted that there was also considerable support for the school with some 600 statements of support being lodged with the Council.

The fact that it is to be an Islamic School was never the officially stated reason for the rejection. However, the lawyer representing the developers pulled no punches in suggesting that this anti-Muslim sentiment was a strong undercurrent to the desire to thwart and ultimately reject the development application. This was supposedly supported by the idea that the majority of the 1800 objections were photocopied pro-forma objections that really only required objectors to fill in the blanks.

The Senior Commissioner of the Land and Environment Court wondered in his judgment whether there would have been the same number of objections had the school development application been lodged by an Anglican Church consortium looking to develop a similar size school.

Ultimately, the Land and Environment Court has approved the development application and ordered some minor changes to be made to allow for some additional landscaping to be included on the site.

It is expected that with the approval to develop now in place that the school will be built quickly.

I have written on this before and you can find it here.