New York City and Eid

Multiculturalism and racism or bigotry go hand-in-hand in the sense that many oversimplify these terms to be opposite sides of the same coin. This is to say, if you do not support multiculturalism or a more plural society then you are racist or a bigot and conversely if you have racist or bigoted tendencies you cannot support multiculturalism. Sometimes I wonder whether the equation is quite as simple as that.

Nevertheless, the Big Apple or perhaps the Big Melting Pot that is New York City is soon to vote on whether two Muslim holidays are to be declared school holidays for all. The two holidays are Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha which celebrate the end of the fasting month and the Haj pilgrimage month respectively. The vote is to take place on 16 October 2008.

This is something that has been on the agenda since 2005 and it seems that the supporters of the vote have finally mustered the numbers to take the issue to committee and then get it through to a full council vote.

The measure was initiated by a Muslim councilor from Harlem, Robert Jackson. However, it is claimed that the measure has broad support within the community and also on the council and this support is from non-Muslims as well. Broad-based support is no guarantee that it will get up when it comes to a vote.

I wonder though whether this sets a precedent that every religion should be able to lobby for its special days to be legislatively declared holidays and then have them so declared. I am happy for governments to declare as many religious holidays that they want. Simply, the more they declare the less number of days I have to work while still getting paid.

The population of NYC is approximately 7 million and of these 1 million are Muslims.

Racism in Australia

I am an Australian and I am a proud Australian. The results of the recent study, Challenging Racism: The Anti-Racism Research Project, does not change the level of pride that I have for Australia and all things Australian.

The results of the study highlight that there is much work to be done if Australia is to become a truly tolerant nation of the diversity that we already have. Quite simply we cannot turn back the clock and start deporting people left right and center that is never going to be a practical response. The report will need to be analyzed in its entirety as i have only seen snippets to date in the form of news bites. However, the study is set for general release at the Rights, Reconciliation, Respect and Responsibility conference to be held at the University of Technology in Sydney this coming Friday.

The study was conducted over ten years and has surveyed some 12,500 people over the last eight years. So, this should in theory provide a relatively good cross-section of the much broader Australian community.

My home state of New South Wales tops the list as the most racist state. I have seen a lot of racism first hand, this is in the sense of having witnessed it and not because I have been subject to it. It is a seeing or watching it happen as opposed to a having it happen to me experience. Racism is also something I have thought about as I am married to an Indonesian and my children will be Australian citizens of mixed race.

The results are alarming in that they suggest as many as 2 out of every 5 people surveyed felt that some ethnic groups and religions did not belong in Australia. The study also found that at least 1 in 10 people surveyed held openly racist views.

This is a concern because if these results are considered to be representative of the broader Australian population then it would seem that we as a community are destined for some pretty rough times in terms of cultural, ethnic, and religious clashes.

It would be my feeling that any kind of cultural, ethnic, or religious based clashes in Australia are destined to further polarize what seems to be a polarizing society.

The people most identified as not belonging (perhaps not fitting into the concept of Australianism that is dominant presently) are Muslims and those from the Middle East. Islam is a religion so I do not know how you can be a racist if you say bad things about it. Perhaps the term is a religious bigot?

The study also asked questions that required people to answer on whether marriages between cultures were a good thing and whether all races are equal. The results for these two questions show that about 10% of those surveyed believe that inter-cultural marriages are a bad thing and that a similar number believe that not all races are equal. These results do not surprise me and in some ways I am surprised that they are not higher.

I wonder if a similar study was conducted in Indonesia what the results might be. There are plenty of inter-cultural marriages but there is always talk and gossip of the unhappiness of the extended family that such marriages have taken place. The idea of marrying within your own group is strong here among most of Indonesia's diverse range of ethnic groups. A read of the singles columns highlight this as race or ethnicity is often identified as a desirable characteristic.

I have been following some blogs and sites where race, ethnic, and religious issues get a regular airing. One such site is Indonesia Matters. The beauty of Indonesia Matters is that one can get to read a very broad cross section of opinions on these topics.

The lead researcher on this study was Professor Kevin Dunn of the University of Western Sydney (this happens to be one of my alma maters). According to Professor Dunn the results are high but it is worth pointing out that overall Australia ranks as being a country with a low level of racism. This means that there are plenty of countries out there in the big bad world with a lot more serious racial, ethnic, and religious tolerance problems than us.

Another Islamic School, Another Protest Planned

I have always thought that Australia was a multicultural society, a tolerant society, a society who valued and respected hard work, a society that embraced diversity. Perhaps this is the eternal optimist in me, the part of me that always wants to see the best in people and places. Some might even be tempted to be cynical and suggest that I am in denial. A denial of how things really are.

I am proud to be Australian! Always have been and always will be. That does not mean I have to agree with what other Australians do and neither does it mean they speak on my behalf.

After the racially driven anti-Islamic school ruckus in Camden some months ago there is more trouble brewing, this time in Austral, a suburb within the Liverpool City Council area. Some might argue that the Camden decision was purely a zoning and environmental suitability issue and the fact that the development proposal was from the Quranic Society was irrelevant. The footage that played out on the TV and commentary in the media would suggest that religion had everything to do with the ultimate decision even though it might have been packaged some other way.

These tensions are about to be reignited as a company called ASFA has lodged a development proposal with the Liverpool City Council to build a joint primary school and high school facility to be known as Qaadari College. The student capacity is expected to be no more than 600 pupils. I am not sure that there are any requirements that you have to be a Muslim to enrol or that you have to agree to become a Muslim to enrol.

In comparison, I teach at a few universities in Indonesia, one of which was established by a Christian family and maintains a Christian philosophy. I have noticed some Muslim faces in the crowd, those wearing the Jilbab or Hijab, so the policy is clearly not one of exclusion or inclusion based on religion. So, if this were to be the case with Qaadari College would this make any difference? Would it make any difference if the development proposal was from a group wanting to build a 600 pupil college to be known as St Paul's College?

The residents near the proposed school say that it would not matter. There only concern is that a 600-pupil school will destroy the serenity they currently enjoy and upset the peacefulness of the area. I am guessing the peacefulness here is not some Zen Buddhist approach to life. Maybe the concern is that if it is a Muslim school then there are sure to be the obligatory call to prayer. So, maybe this is what will disturb the peace?

If this is true then so be it. However, even if it is true then the agenda is seemingly just about to be hijacked by those keen to promote and highlight the ills of a multicultural Australia and those that are keen to use such development applications to promote an anti-immigration platform and the value of maintaining an Anglo-Celtic-European-white heritage. If you want to check out the thought patterns of these individuals then register at australianidentity.net and have a read for yourself. You cannot get on without registering first.

There you will find these little pearls of wisdom:

"Multiculturalism means never having to go overseas to find an enemy."
- Anonymous

If this does not tell you what these people are about then you do not understand the subtlety of the sledge hammer. The above is the signature of someone known as Casapound. I do not know whether this is important but Casapound is a "Hero Member". I suppose the site sets out how one becomes a hero member but I have not gotten that far into the site to find out.

My guess is that those opposed to the development proposal will be organizing themselves through sites such as this one and others. Is this the beginning of a return to the past, a reinventing of the White Australia policy, an immigration policy reliant on the color of your skin and not on your ability to contribute to the Australian community? If it is then this is a scary prospect.

My concern is that these proposals are not being considered on merit but rather on the basis or fear and intimidation. For me, fear and intimidation is not the Australian way, or at least it should not be in 2008.

I want my kids to grow up in an Australia that is tolerant of the great diversity that we have.

These are things for me to ponder.

Postscript...

You do not have to register to browse on the Australian Identity site. I did have to register to leave a comment.

Political Correctness or Good Public Policy?

I am prone to wasting too much time surfing the Internet instead of doing the things that I probably should be doing like my work. Yet, my surfing hobby teaches me much and I learn lots of interesting "stuff". Most of this "stuff" will only ever be of any use if the makers of Trivial Pursuit update the questions to include more recent irrelevant factoids for me to excel on.

However, as I was surfing I came across this article on washrooms. More interesting was the fact that one of my fellow bloggers and a Polar Bear to boot had actually blogged about this already in a posting titled "Washroom Wars". The Polar Bear and I, although originating from the same iceberg, often have to agree to disagree on certain things but always respectfully disagreeing. I must confess that I enjoy reading the Bear's take on the things that interest and concern him as many of these things also interest and concern me.

Anyway, enough on the Bear and onto the topic at hand.

The story is this. La Trobe University has decided in its infinite wisdom that there is a need for Muslim only washrooms on campus. The idea of this kind of segregation was destined to be met with calls of bias and discrimination. I am glad that my fellow Australians have not disappointed me and have taken issue with this and sparked a much needed debate on exactly what course multicultural Australia is going to embark on into the future.

The washrooms have special security arrangements where entry can only be granted on the entry of an accepted push-button code. The University and the Muslim community have stated that this is essential to Muslim prayer rituals. This is simply not true! Muslims have special washing rituals that they must complete before prayer, but none of these require Muslim only access to a washroom. Washrooms would only need to be modified in order that it would be easier for Muslims to wash their feet rather than having to hoick the leg over the waist-high hand basin!

This is a slippery slope that leads to an inevitable backlash as others demand special privileges based on some perceived need that may not be borne out by the reality of the request. This is not about providing a special prayer room! I have no problems with special prayer rooms. Most Christian denominations have been granted special prayer rooms to conduct their business and this should be no different for Muslims!

The question that needs to be asked here is a simple one. Where do we draw the line in the sand on this one? Do we accept that there should be separate Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Adventist, Pentecostal, or whatever else someone wants to claim, washrooms. Do we accept that trains and buses need to include special sections or carriages for Muslim passengers or more exclusively Muslim women?

This is a small step from the segregated past that many had thought we had left behind. This is but a small hop, skip, and a jump from male only schools, stolen generations, white and non-white swimming pools, or heaven forbid the White Australia Policy. This is a policy that exacerbates community divisions rather than moving towards healing them.

I wonder what sort of multicultural Australia I and the better half are returning to raise the kid in.

A Camden Update...

The reaction in the press has been swift and this reaction has reached not only Indonesia but much further afield to the like of the United Kingdom from whence us convicts originated from many a generation ago!

As I posted earlier, it seems that there are others that are also of the belief that the ability of the Camden Council to reject the proposal based on traffic concerns seemed all too convenient and a little too political.

Since the decision last night a huge wooden crucifix has been erected on the site and a passage from the Bible affixed to it that reads:

"David and Goliath. The battle is won. This is the King of Kings Land. Prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. (Eph 6:18)."

Let me play Devil's Advocate here for a bit and raise a few questions.

Some of the interviews with local residents reflected that the happiness that they felt with the rejection of the development proposal had nothing to do with planning issues but an intense desire not to have Muslims in the community because they would build Mosques, ghetto-ize Camden, and make Camden a hot bed of fundamentalist Islamic activity.

1. Is Australia truly a multicultural nation or is that just lip service to an ideal?

2. Isn't it true that racism is alive and well in Australian small towns with limited numbers of migrants?

3. Would this planning / development proposal been rejected if the school was to be an Anglican, Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish school?

4. Isn't it true that schools have always been built in rural areas and usually on farm land converted for that purpose?

There are probably a thousand other questions I could ask but these four will suffice for now.

I am certain that the Quranic Society will appeal this decision to the Land and Environment Court and I think they have a good chance of winning. It seems the objections on which the Council based its decision play more to political expediency than good development sense.

There is also a history in the sense that the last time a similar case came before the Court where a development application was rejected by the Baulkham Hills Council for an Islamic Prayer Hall for reasons that it did not fit the community profile, the Council decision was overturned by the Court. The prayer hall has been built!

For Australia to really move forward and become a leader in community relations we have to escape this culture of fear and religious intolerance.

Denmark -- Immigration Challenges -- Muslims

This is not my normal or usual style to cut and paste a whole article by someone else.

However, I found this article to be interesting and a good read! Therefore, I just cut and pasted the whole thing and then formatted it for this entry (substance wise it remains as written by Leslie Sacks). The article is about Denmark and the immigration challenges that they have encountered with respect to immigration by Muslims.

The article deals with the challenges of tolerance, integration, assimilation, and multiculturalism! If you have found me and read this far I would encourage you to read the article. It will not take you long...

Leslie Sacks

Denmark, long the liberal, open society that welcomed immigrants, has done an about face. After being the symbolic envy of Universalists, of Socialists, of cultural liberalism, Denmark today has the strictest immigration policy in Europe.

The Muslim population in Denmark, constituting a mere 4% of the total, refuses to integrate, consumes 40% of the welfare, and constitutes a majority of the country’s convicted rapists. The Danes now acknowledge that their core values of personal liberty, free speech, equality for women and tolerance of other ethnic groups are incompatible with Islam as they know it.

Muslim leaders openly advocate introducing Islamic law in Denmark. Danes at the forefront of advocating free speech and Western values are subject to fatwas and increasingly violent attacks from the Muslim population.

This haven of tolerance and openness has opted for survival and rationality. For citizenship, the country now requires of new immigrants:

- 3 years of language classes

- tests on Denmark’s history, culture and language

- 7 years of residency prior to application

- proven job opportunities and commitment to work

New mosques will not be allowed to be built in Copenhagen. Assimilation will be actively promoted. The country that once courageously and righteously saved their 7,000 Jews from the Nazi death camps now is accused of racism.

America is no stranger to accusations of profiling, political incorrectness and racism. Yet Muslims worldwide still beat down our doors to gain immigration status to the U.S. - they tellingly do not do likewise to the majority of UN nations habitually accusing the U.S. of racism. When did Cuba or Russia, Syria or even Saudi Arabia, those bastions of tolerance and freedom, last receive a deluge of immigrant applications?

So we in the U.S. spend our time being sued by aggressive Imams testing nervous airlines. Open season has been declared on the West by demanding Islamist organizations hoping to force the government and our municipalities to kowtow into passive submission. We now clearly need footbaths in every university restroom. We also need two taxi lines at every airport - one for those with short skirts, dogs or alcoholic beverages and one for Shari’a-compliant Americans.

Yet little spunky Denmark is showing us and everyone the way. They opened their borders and their coffers to welcome Muslims, in a show of remarkable generosity and goodwill. Now, bruised and battered by an unappreciative, increasingly fundamentalist, and sadly uncompromising Muslim community, they are closing their doors and battening down the hatches.

It is only a matter of time before America’s similar generosities and freedoms are likewise pressured. It will not be too long before our remarkable naiveté, our exquisitely refined political correctness, are replaced by realistic pragmatism and a strong commitment to our own cultural survival, to uncompromising freedoms and our non-negotiable security and liberty.

A new found taste for Danish pastries perhaps?

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FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Leslie Sacks is an art dealer and gallerist in Los Angeles. Before that, he founded and operated Les Art International in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he was active in opposing apartheid and in supporting the Johannesburg Jewish community.