The writers here read as if their as confused as I am about Islam and it's place in a modern western society, like Australia.
A site I read yesterday helped me a lot and I recommend it you all.

http://www.iranian.com/Namazie/2006/September/Relativism/index.html

Please let me know thru this site your reactions.

I believe our PM as Ifran states is making political capital from the Islam debate, as opposed to edifying the populace.
fluff

Irfan,
You must know and have contact with many people who have migrated here. Do you know, or can you inquire, as to what information they were given prior to deciding to immigrate here.

I know it would seem obvious that they are fully informed about our culture and society, but sometimes the obvious is not considered.

My inquiries to DIMA have uncovered nothing and the website is not very helpfull.

What I can't understand is why someone who feels strongly about a cultural matter, say arranged marriages, would come here IF he knows it is not permitted here. This makes me wonder if migrants are properly informed before arrival.

Turn Right turn left,
I believe Boaz was referring to the same issue. i.e. prospective migrants need to be told about cultural differences before deciding to come here.

Well Fluff4, I read Maryam's blog. Quite interesting but after all;
Why Should We Bother !!

I see no reason why we should divert our efforts from running our
society to cater for the Moslems and the Islamists amoung them.
Why should we bother ? Its all their problem not ours.

Just let them stay away and leave us in peace.
Those that cannot cope with us should not be here, let them go back.
Frankly, I am becoming heartily sick of hearing about moslems.
They seem to do nothing but whinge about being profiled.
As I said elsewhere should we chase up Eskimo terrorists ?

David

I think they just objected to the way the trains disturbed their camels.

Keith

Does any one else out there doubt the substance of this war?

- as well as engaging in a shooting war over a few - albeit tragic in a human sense for those who died or lost some one - minor atrocities ; we now seemingly have a bi partisan commitment to fostering a cultural war in order to fan the flames of the militaristic one.]

A few have gone so far to tag this war on terror and I suppose the accompyaning cultural war some form of conspiracy - I think that affords a few people too much credit - it is more like a universal form of paranoid psychosis - with associated delusions of granduer - at least a sense of granduer about the value of the lives of those who could be broadly described as Westerners -

The lies surrounding the war on terror are so vast, so omnipresent that they have sucked the oxygen from the debate and suffocated the truth - this cultural conflict is another artificial theatre of war opened up to continue the divergence from any truth at all.

a pox on those who promote it

Integration is a roll for ALL australians. EVERY person must give a little to "fit in" not just muslims with dark skin or budhas with orange skin or gothics with white skin.
Irfan you shot us muslims in the foot by implying muslims are mutually exclusive from Australians.