Monday, March 04, 2013

Australia: No Room for Sharia Law in Multicultural Society

creeping
No room for Sharia law in multicultural society by: PATRICIA KARVELAS From: The Australian March 03, 2013
ISLAMIC law and polygamous marriages will be denounced as forever unacceptable in Australia in a bipartisan parliamentary report that will define what multiculturalism means for our nation, and state there must be only “one law for all”.
The report — the result of a two-year investigation into Australia’s multicultural strategy — is understood to be critical of the limited access migrants have to English language training and the lack of cultural awareness shown by employers and the federal employment recruitment agency.
It is also understood to make the recommendation that a national multicultural research centre be established, funded by the federal government and run independently. The centre’s chief role will be to conduct research on how communities are integrating and identify their needs.

The report will be delivered within weeks after the committee — dominated by Labor and Coalition MPs but including the Greens — agreed on a number of policies. However, the Coalition MPs are likely to make some “additional comments” in the report to make it clear where their views are different from those of Labor MPs. The Coalition MPs’ key point will be that some of the Labor initiatives — including the new national research institution — will cost taxpayers more money than may be unaffordable “in this economic climate”.
Coalition MPs are also concerned Labor has been too keen to paint migrants and refugees as “victims” and wants to ensure that they agree only to a pathway of “integration”.
The committee was confronted with a range of Islamic views, including a submission from the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, which argued that Muslims should enjoy “legal pluralism”.
In an interview, the organisation’s president, Ikebal Adam Patel, who wrote the submission, nominated family law and specifically divorce as areas where moderate interpretations of sharia could co-exist within the Australian legal system.
The multiculturalism review also received one submission calling for polygamous marriages to be considered.
The committee has come to the view these more radical ideas should be rejected, explaining that a multicultural society would not tolerate them.
The committee heard that Australians were comfortable with multiculturalism and racial diversity, but an overwhelming number of people expressed concerns Muslims were not integrating and were coming to Australia to impose their values.
It is understood the committee believes the Gillard government’s social inclusion agenda needs to incorporate cultural diversity as a factor and marker for disadvantage. The Weekend Australian tried to contact the committee’s chairwoman, Labor MP Maria Vamvakinou, but she would not comment while deliberations were under way.
She has previously said her committee believed the country needed strong political leadership to ease tensions over Islam.
Reading that article it’s not clear why that title was chosen. All in all it sounds like a losing proposition for Australians – funding more immigration and funding more social programs for immigrants who don’t want to assimilate but prefer sharia or other laws and already have the ear of politicians and think tanks.

The solution begins with a moratorium on immigration and deportation of those who want to create an Islamic state within the state. Ditto America.
But alas, maybe the report has some validity as we just received this: Muslim groups attack findings on sharia:
MUSLIM groups have criticised the findings of a forthcoming parliamentary report on multiculturalism that denounces Islamic law and polygamous marriages.
Federation of Islamic Councils assistant secretary Keysar Trad said the report’s findings, revealed in The Australian’s Sunday edition yesterday, showed a “continued misunderstanding” of sharia .
 And Muslims continue to show a continued defense of and push for sharia. Stay tuned. Riots pending.
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