Yield to our demands or face dire consequences, warns Australian Muslim leader

A MEMBER of Australia’s Muslim community has warned that hostility towards Islamic schools could force religious education underground, where children are more likely to be targeted by extremists.

Ikebal Patel, the president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, said blocking Islamic schools could lead to:

Muslim children being given their religious education in backyards and garages by teachers whose credentials no one could vet. You may have some very extreme imams or religious teachers getting through to the children.

Islamic schools should be encouraged because teaching would be supervised by state boards of education, he added.

According to a report in today’s Guardian, Patel was reacting to a decision by a council on the outskirts of Sydney this week to reject a proposed Islamic school. Camden council unanimously rejected the application for the 1,200 pupil school, citing planning and environmental reasons. The decision was hailed as a victory for hundreds of residents who had vehemently opposed the scheme.

Tensions within Camden, a semi-rural area, had been building since the school’s backer, the Qu’uranic Society, revealed its plans. Two pigs’ heads, impaled on stakes, were left on the proposed site and riot police had to be called to break up one meeting of anti-school supporters.

Locals who had no objections were outnumbered by those who said they did not want an influx of Muslims in their mainly Christian town. Resident Kate McCulloch, draped in an Australian flag, was a cheerleader for the anti-school brigade and said Muslims were not welcome.

We don’t want them here. We don’t want them in Australia. They’re an oppressive society. The ones that come here oppress our society, they take our welfare and they don’t want to accept our way of life.

The inflammatory atmosphere was stoked up by members of Australia First, a far-right party which bussed demonstrators into the area.

The decision to deny the planning application has reignited debate about Australia’s attitude to multiculturalism. There are more than 400,000 Muslims among Australia’s 21 million population, more than half of that number live within the Sydney area.

Ali Roude, the president of the Islamic Council of New South Wales, said other mosques, Islamic centres and schools were being rejected under a smokescreen of planning problems.

It does not help the image of Australia because we should be taking pride in setting an example to the whole world that we can live together.

Like so many Muslim leaders, Roude speaks with forked tongue. As Religion News Blog points out here in yet another story about Muslims demanding special treatment:

By its very nature, Islam makes it extremely difficult for Muslims to integrate. Islam means submission, and the Koran makes it clear that Muslims expect non-Muslims to submit to Islam. Western values are not compatible with Islam. One goal of Islam is to subject the entire world to its rule.