Joe

Both the Christian and Muslim religions and the countries they have ruled for over a thousand years are on a par with each other in terms of general horribleness. So I'm not going to get into a tit-for-tat history discourse.

The only real reason the Christian countries shot ahead in terms of scientific and cultural advancement was because of the tremendous wealth they obtained during the Age of Expansion, in which they enslaved and/or exterminated most of the rest of the world. Despite all this enlightened wealth and advancement, two-thirds of the population of Western Europe lived in abject squalor.

The type of Enlightenment I am referring to is not what the West experienced in the 18th century. I'm talking more about the last 100 years or so, especially since the end of the Ottoman empire. Western foreign policy - in particular, Britain and France, and since WWII, the US - have systematically prevented Islamic majority countries from progressing in their own way and at their own pace.

Those that did start to progress along secular lines - Iran, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq and others - have been constantly interfered with, their governments overthrown to make way for Western-friendly dictators and the most fundamentalist, Sharia-thumping crazies among them actually funded and trained by the West as fighting militias.

At the same time, it props up countries like Saudi Arabia, one of the most fundamentally evil Islamic regimes in existence. In terms of Western foreign policy, Islam is only 'evil' when it doesn't kow-tow to Western interests.

//Wow, really? Defending mikk?//

Nah, having a go at runner. Because that's what he's there for. Mikk can fend for his or herself.

Now why don't you run along and suck runner's cock some more, you sycophantic little faggot?

//Of course, the point about Australians shaking hands is that it's an expression of equality. Long may it continue to be so.//

Well I think it's safe to conclude that you're not a Freemason ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1bHBthJN9w

Masons shake hands to prove they're Masons, and not just any old Joe. Come to think of it, we did the same thing in Scouts.

Joe

There is a couple here on your case. If Muslims wish to stone adulteresses to death in Australia for example, who cares, I don't. If they wish to marry a twelve year old cousin, who cares. I don't care.
Whatever they wish to do that is acceptable to themselves, do it. BUT the war is on if some idiot in government wishes to extend those privileges to the wider community who are not Muslim...I do care!

Likewise, as a Christian, I don't want, for example, a homosexual wishing to marry his lover in my church, to have the right to persecute me over my right to exercise my conscience to say NO. And I don't want the government to interfere with my right to say no, by persecuting me with stupid laws which strip me of MY rights.
This is how Muslims think Joe. It's a parallel universe to the Christian universe.
And Joe, I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, that Aboriginals can already exercise their own cultural pay back rights, under certain circumstances, of spearing wrong doers in their tribe, as punishment. Tribal punishment!

And I whole heartedly agree with Killarney. We all of us know who kicked the Muslim ant nest.
One cannot deny the duplicitous nature of the Wests foreign policy. It was glorious to see the sycophantic little grub that dragged Australia along the same path at the command of George Bush, John Howard, ambushed by enemies of his own making in the street today.
And to be so fearful of reprisal as to have his own police guard, even this far out in time from his evil!

Dan, you missed my point about the cousin marriage.
It has resulted in a damaged genome and a resultant lower average IQ.
It also has resulted in a widespread behaviour problem.
They have a 13% to 20% increase in children with learning difficulties.
If you doubt this go and read the report by the NSW Health Dept in the
NSW parliament Hansard and also the report to the House of Commons by
the Midlands National Health Service.
There are also similar reports in Denmark.

diver dan

'If Muslims wish to stone adulteresses to death in Australia for example, who cares, I don't. If they wish to marry a twelve year old cousin, who cares. I don't care.'

Assuming I'm reading you right, that's taking tolerance way too far, diver! Not in MY country, thank you very much!

Hi Killarney,

With respect, the Muslim world had a thousand years of relatively undisturbed opportunity to get its act together if it was ever to move, glacially slowly, toward anything resembling the Enlightenment in the West - all those imperfect things like equality, the impartiality of the law, democracy, and particularly women's rights, etc. - and they blew it. Locked into a backward religion, which forbad any change or genuine analysis, what else could - and can - they expect ?

But I agree that Western capitalism has, for its own grubby purposes, propped up the most reactionary of regimes - which often tend to be the 'most Muslim'. Trump is continuing that opportunist tradition.

And yes, what's Dan on ? I suspected that, sooner or later, some dumb-dumb on the 'Left' would start pushing the line that 'Shari'a is okay for Muslims, leave them to it', i.e. that women who happen to be Muslim should be stripped of their rights as Australians, as Australian women, on spurious, gutless and quite reactionary grounds which would sit well with the feudalistic Ottoman notion of 'milayet, millet'. I'm sure you would oppose that sort of drivel ?

Regards,

Joe