Andrew Bolt
September 16, 2012
Reaction - some of it almost honest enough, much of it not:
But in response to the violence in Sydney, and to similar outbreaks across the world, Foreign Minister Bob Carr said he had asked all Australian diplomatic posts to “redouble their efforts” in closing the gap between Islamic and western societies....
“I have asked Australia’s diplomatic posts around the world to redouble their efforts to bridge the gap between civilizations to encourage the overlap of cultures and the dialogue between faiths,” the Foreign Minister said.
Actually, it is not for us to work harder but for the Muslim world to do so. They aren’t representatives of “Australian culture” who are marching around with signs demanding opponents have their heads cut off. This is just putting the responsibility on the reasonable, because the unreasonable won’t listen. Lazy.
Julia Gillard described the film, which has sparked anti-American violence across the globe and which portrays the prophet Mohammed as a womaniser and pedophile, as “repulsive”.
“But the making of that video does not condone violent conduct and I absolutely condemn the violence that we have seen on Sydney’s streets,” Ms Gillard said.
Has the Prime Minister actually seen the film she describes as “repulsive”? Is there any need to denounce what’s the most ludicrously tenuous provocation for mayhem from people clearly desperate to take offence? Do not give any support for an already monstrously outsized sense of grievance, or before you know it we’ll be censoring ourselves to placate the implacable. The correct response is: “Whether this or any other film is rude to Islam or not, that’s free speech - and nothing justifies people responding with violence.”
NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell said he was “horrified” by the street battles and clashes with police yesterday.
He said such protests undermined Australia’s successful multicultural society....
“We’ve got 200 different nationalities in this city but what we saw yesterday was the unacceptable face of multiculturalism,” Mr O’Farrell said.
How about backing this up by scrapping multiculturalism for the only legitimate policy for a government - to accept the freedom of citizens to make their own cultural choices, provided there is no harm done to others, but to focus government policy exclusively on helping people to identify with a national identity that embraces all.
Tony Abbott said the ugly scenes did not fairly reflect the Islamic people of Australia. The Opposition Leader said newcomers to Australia were not expected to surrender their heritage, but were expected to surrender their hatreds.
“I think that’s the message that has got to go from every Australian to those people on the streets of Sydney yesterday,” he told reporters in Sydney.
“I don’t believe we saw an acceptable face of Islam yesterday.”
No, but is this not one such face - and, if so, how such public policy adapt?
Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce said politicians should speak out to protect Australia “from what we might become years down the track”.
“It’s not xenophobic to ask what is in your national interest and what values we support and what actions we will condone,” Senator Joyce told the Nationals’ federal conference in Canberra.
True. And so we should...?
Ms Gillard appeared unlikely to act on Mr Abbott’s call for Australia to revoke the visa of visiting British Muslim leader Taji Mustafa, who the Coalition leader called a “preacher of hate”.
Mr Mustafa was the star guest at Muslim organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir’s annual conference at Bankstown in Sydney today.
Now here we get to things we could very easily justify on the grounds of self-defence. Here is a challenge being squibbed.
