Banjo: << Is it not the Christian thing to do. i.e. Apologise and repent when in the wrong? >>

Not if some of OLO's more vocal Christians are anything to go by.

I'll change my mind (repent) and apoligise to Westralis when he has clarified his position was merely quoting the Koranic view, and it not his own.

Banjo
I do understand your concerns. The lines are indeed tricky to navigate which is why we should not enter lightly into changing the laws without understanding some of the possible ramifications.

In relation to the women who was being harrassed by her neighbours, I know of a similar case in WA where nothing was done due to ethnic sensitivities. This is PC gone made. Bad behaviour should be admonished regardless of the ethnicity of the perpetrator or victim.

It is perfectly rational to expect equality under the law in a secular democracy. In that way minorities and majorities rights are both valued.

I've just come back from a lovely
lunch with my mother, who's suffering
from dementia. Today, was a particularly
good day for her. She remembered so many
things.

I asked mum how she felt about Australia.
She spoke with gratitude of the multicultural
nature of Australian society, which meant
that there is no single national identity
but a gathering of many cultures, and that
this to her was one of the most unique and
rewarding aspects of living in Australia.
That the nature of being Australian was to be
part of this diversity. The wide and varied
gathering of "identities" was in keeping with the
sense of potential and openness so many people
enjoyed on coming here.

She felt privileged not
only to have been able to make a home here but also
to have found her own sense of belonging.

My mother is only one of many, who has come from
somewhere else and settled in Australia. Hers is
only one story of the ups and downs of adapting
to life in Australia, but it provides a window
on the experience of leaving one home in order
to create another.

I've recently read the experiences of several
Australian Muslim women in a magazine about
why they choose - or choose not to - wear the
Islamic veil.

For example, Mahboba Rawi, 45,
came to Australia as a refugee from Afghanistan in
1984. She runs Mahboba's Promise, a non-profit
volunteer organisation that supports women and
children in Afghanistan. She wears a blue headscarf
as part of her Muslim faith and as a tribute to her
Afghan heritage.

She explains, "When I arrived in Australia, there
wasn't much reaction to the Muslim community.
I never experienced any racism. After 9/11,
everything changed. Some Muslims are scared to wear
their scarves; they don't feel comfortable going
out in public. But I am one of the luckiest
Muslim women in the country because I have been
able to build trust between my community
and the Australian community. Even though I am
wearing the scarf, in my mind, I am an Aussie."

cont'd ...

cont'd ...

Dr Soraya Alami, runs a medical practice
in Sydney's Lakemba, a hub of Lebanese
Australian life. Around 80% of her patients
are Muslim women and children. Most of these
women wear a headscarf, but Dr Alami has chosen
not to. "I don't feel there is a need to take
the headscarf. My understanding of the headscarf
is in its historical and cultural context.
Hisotrically, it was safer for women to cover
themselves to protect themselves from violence and
sexual expolitation. In today's society, women's
rights are recognised and protected by law."

Faduma Mousse,51, is a community health worker from
Melbourne. She came to Australia as a refugee from
Somalia in 1995. She has five children, aged 23 to 31,
and 15 grandchildren. Faduma wears a headscarf as an
expression of her Muslim faith, but does not cover
her face. She says, "Sometimes people see you wearing
the scarf and they call you names. But you just take it
in your stride. Wearing a burqa is a choice. To tell
you the truth, I think students going to school with
a covered face - well, it's up to them - but I
personally don't agree with that. My children all grew
up here and they speak to each other in English.
My grandchildren were all born here - they speak
maybe three words in Somali. I am still Somalian and a
Muslim, but I see myself as more Australian now."

These extracts were taken from, "The Australian Women's
Weekly," June 2010 issue.

Philo,
You do not dissappoint. I had a christian upbringing and the reason I am no longer religious is simply because I found that adults did not practice the religion I was taught as a child.

It is common for those claiming to be Christian to lie, cheat and worm their way out when they know they have done something wrong.

If you were being honest, you would admitt that Westralis did not say he believed in the blasphemy that he said Muslims and Jews believed.

Your not unusual for a christian. I recall the bloke, who was Treasurer for Bob Hawke, saying it was OK for Hawke to lie to Keating about the party leadership. He was an ordained christian priest, but I have forgotten his name. Just the one you would expect to have the highest moral standards and integrity. I don't believe that Jesus would lie.

Then more recently, there has been the exposure of church men who were 'kiddy fiddlers'. Being religous does not do much for many I am afraid. i could quote more, who are church goers, that lie and deceive.

I believe my standards are higher than most Christians.