14/10/01

It does seem to me that the media has focused more on the stories in relation to vandalism of Mosques rather than vandalism to Churches. It seems to me that the vandalism to Mosques has been graffiti whereas churches have been firebombed. The main focus of the firebombing of Churches, as best as I can gather from the media, has been the Canterbury/Bankstown/Auburn area which is the area of Sydney with the most significant Muslim community. I have also heard of a nursing home being firebombed in Lakemba (with no one injured)

though it was identified as being a Masonic sponsored facility so may not be related to this current situation (I did not hear about the nursing home via the media but through a friend who has a relative there).

There has also been churches and war memorials vandalized with pro Bin Laden slogans in Campbletown and Arncliffe. I do not know if there is a Muslim community in these areas of Sydney.

I feel that the media’s reasons for not heavily reporting these incidents may be benign. There is probably a generally held view that to dwell on these incidents may create a backlash in the wider community. With Muslim groups already reporting an increased level of religiously motivated attacks (being spat at and women having their head dress removed) since the September 11 attack it is possible that these attacks could escalate to a higher level. I like to think that this wouldn’t happen in Australia but I would have liked to think that people of any faith could go about their daily lives without being spat on so I agree with the media’s responsible handling of these attacks.

I do not believe that there is an organized campaign by an Islamic fundamentalist organization against churches in Sydney. I have no doubt that within Sydney’s Muslim community that there is some small minority who have sympathy with the aims and methods of fundamentalist Islamic radicals from other parts of the world but I believe that their moderate brethren would be more that able to keep them in check. I also believe that Australian Intelligence and law enforcement agencies would also be able to deal with them using the substantial powers at their disposal.

However I do believe that youth from Muslim backgrounds are responsible for the majority of the Church vandalism. I have no proof and accept that I may be wrong. My reasons for believing them responsible are as follows; the timing of these attacks follows the September 11 attacks, the targets of these attacks have been Christian Churches and Christians are the all powerful enemy (secretly in league with the Jews) in the Islamic Fundamentalist ideology and the use of pro Bin laden slogans in the graffiti.

I feel that the reason these youth are resorting to violence of this type is a failure on the part of moderate Islamic leadership in this country and internationally to critically analyse the nature of Fundamentalist Islamic ideology and offer an appealing and cogent alternative.

I accept absolutely that the majority of the Muslim community is appalled by terrorism. And I do not believe that there is anything inherent in Islam (that is not also inherent in any other religion or ideology) that makes it susceptible to radical fundamentalism. However many Islamic leaders (by that I mean scholars, judges & politicians) here and overseas are, in my opinion, guilty of a moral double standard. Due to the admixture of nationalist causes and Islam in some parts of the world, many leaders seek to create a moral space for terrorism on the grounds of historical wrongs, territorial disputes etc. This has manifest itself lately in the phenomenon of “I condemn these attacks on America, but America must look at its past actions in …. (what follows is a catalogue of every atrocity in the modern world where U.S. interests or foreign policy may have been involved)” If you haven’t seen many examples of this you haven’t been following the media or posts to this news group.

An uncritical analyses of a Country’s foreign policy will lead that country to blunder, I accept that and know that America is guilty of such blunders. But to allow moral space for terrorists is to commit exactly the same error on behalf of your ideology or religion and makes you guilty of the same kind of blunder.

Giving creedence to elaborate conspiracy theories of Christion/Jewish hegemony working through the Israel/U.S. axis to destabilise the Islamic world in order to explain the problems of the middle east is a special kind of double edged sword. A sword with both edges aimed at the weilder. You stiffle self analysis which could lead to real solutions to problems and you make an enemy you don’t need.

These are just some thoughts for the muslim community to ponder (that is if any actually participate in this newsgroup, it seems that a lot of the posts here are just rabidly anti Islam or rabidly pro Bin Laden).

Regards,

GibbonBoy