Your point needs to be stated again and again in the face of the nonsense generated by the likes of Stone. One of our nations strengths, only demonstrated in the last few decades has been its ability to integrate all nations into one society.
With out doubt there are varying degree of integration - some migrants totally assimilate in fact - if thats what they want to do fine. Stone and his cronies wants to drag us back to the fifties - or further still more likely - where women wore hats and gloves to church, where working mens clubs were in every suburb, where most were deferential to the few and where things like olives and salami where considered exotic foods.
Stones veiws marginalise people and generates a sense of persecution and anxiety where none should exist. They drive people back into themselves crushing the exchange of ideas and dialogue If you want to advance extremism of the fundamentalist kind embrace the extremism of the Stone kind.
It is not surpising that that there are constant calls, like those from Stone, to tun back the clock; in some respects Blainey was right in his assessment of Australians - many Australians have been over whelmed by the changes brought about by migration - but many more have not. And those who have not been spooked by people with a differeent religion or appearance have a reponsibiltiy to remain steadfast in the face of racism - and worse, the fear of what is different.

John Stone speaks for a great many Australians from all walks of life who will disagree that his arguments are “shallow” and who will find nothing of real substance in Irfan Yusuf’s opposing opinion. Nobody could seriously believe that the religious beliefs of a bank CEO and a financial contributor to football have any bearing on the matters raised by John Stone any more than the history of Muslim presence in a Australia, including the trading for sea slugs between Aborigines and Muslims from Indonesia for thousands of years, has any bearing on what is rapidly becoming known by commentators as the “Muslim problem” today. If Irfan Yusuf knows anything about real “average” Australians, he does not demonstrate it in his piece. He would be well advised to take the advice he gives to John Stone: get out more. What you hear from vote-grabbing politicians and academics is not necessarily the same as you will hear from Australians who, in John Stones words, are sick of it.

Irfan: Back to the old chestnut "how do I trust moslems?" Moslems are allowed, commanded, to LIE to infidels. Please do not insult my intelligence to say that this is not in your koran. Islamic governments are able to abrogate any pacts or treaties made with other nations. When weak the treaties are made but when these governments are stronger out go these treaties. The name for this lying and treachery is - "al-taqiyya" or "hudna". Please do not put me down as a liar as this can, as you know, be shown to be true. If I could trust you I would be more than willing to live in peace with you as a fellow Australian. Yet so many of your compatriots say, with vehemence, that their loyalty does not lie with Australia. Yes we have had the Afghan camelliers with us in Australia for yonks but they did not want to destroy us and our values as many moslem want to do today. I am sorry but moslems appear to be quite un-trustworthy. numbat

John Stone argues that: “our future immigration policy should focus on whether those concerned are capable of assimilating into an Australian culture”. But tolerance and the celebration of diversity – the core ideals of multiculturalism, as understood by its proponents and practitioners – are integral to Australian values, not some alien graft or recent fad. And the fruit of those values – a rich, diverse, dynamic, interesting, globally-attuned society and community - represent the truly authentic Australian culture, not the arid monoculture of the like-minded that Stone seems to crave.

Muslims like those described by Irfan have and do make a major contribution to Australian life. By talking about real people and real historical events, Irfan gives the lie to the poisonous generalisations of those who speak of a “Muslim problem”.

G'day Leigh,

Could you please tell me who your ' real average Australians' are and especially what they look like? Seriously, please tell me, I want to know if I'm one or if I've met one!

This contention appears to be central to your arguement I think it would be much more powerful if you provided some details about who these people are.

I await your response.

Irfan, you are wrong and John Stone is wrong. Culture is not the problem, religious culture is the problem. It was the same with the invasion of the christian religion, it is the same with the islamic invasion. Our indigenous peoples didn't have the understanding to save their culture against the might of the European christians and their wrathful god. Australians of today, know what religion can do to a culture, that is why they are objecting.

Sadly people are always scared of change and that goes triple for the religious, that"s why they end up fighting each other. Take any place or culture in the world, you will always find most are accepting and hospitable, they may laugh at the visitors cultural approach, in a humorous way, the visitor may laugh at their hosts ways. It is all good fun, a good learning curve exchanging cultural differences. But if you laugh at their religious culture, or they laugh at yours, then we have trouble, as can be seen around the world.

The problem stems from the fact that those seeking to become part of Australia, not only want to contribute some of their countries culture to our life styles, which is really good, but they also want to emforce their religious culture as well.

From a personal point of view, I love the variety of cultures we have here, but I can't stand any of the religious culture thats imposed upon us.

Muslims have the right to believe what they want, but those rights must stop when it effects the country that has adopted them. That is the problem we are faced with. I take exception to someone entering my business whilst fully covered in a shroud and I can't see who I am talking to. That is not Australian culture, it is islamic religious culture and has no place here.

Live here by all means, but keep your religious culture for islamic countries and let us keep ours.

Religion should be restricted to places of worship and in the home. In public, walk our way, or go away.