BD, it gets worse. I saw one intolerant type recently posted the following on another thread

"For example, if the issue was accomodation and a neighbour objected to a homosexual couple moving in next door, I would find in favor of the complainant." http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=156#3008

It's not just mossie mayors who show no respect for the rights of those who don't share their beliefs.

Thankfully I suspect that the kind of intolerant bigotry shown by that poster is not typical of most from his(or her) faith.

Unfortunately some reports suggest that the extremist portion of that faith group is on the rise. If not on the rise certainly on the nose.

We need to clamp down on these types who would push their own religious mania's on the rest of us up to the limit of the law.

They are a danger to all civilised people, don't you agree?

R0bert

Georgina D,

You appear to be conflating two incompatible meanings of "difference" and "diversity":

1) RE symbolism - diversity of meaning/interpretation of the 'good life'
2) RE ethics - diversity of ethical principles

The reason no one bothered over the years to spell the difference out is that it just seems so obvious that without the universal (that is, NON diverse) applicability of certain principles you cannot have any diversity whatsoever.

For this reason, diversity is permissible and encouraged, but only insofar as the ethical principles upon which it stands remain upheld: e.g. considerateness and tolerance of others, fairness, the right to participate, to be critical, and the obligation to be subject to criticism, etc.

In other words, EVERYTHING is subject to criticism and scrutiny, even cultural practices and God! No exceptions are made on the grounds that it is one's "culture", where that culture entails a violation of such principles.

Everything must be subject to rational debate only, including one's precious "tradition".

Angelo; South Africa’s problems are due to years of apartheid, nothing to do with multiculturalism.

And China is anything but monocultural. The idea that it is an homogenous mass of Han Chinese is a Maoist myth. Throughout the early 20th century, it suited the Chinese nationalists and later the communists to inveigle into China's national consciousness the idea that they are all ethnically uniform. It seems the Maoists were successful in spreading the myth, and people outside China certainly believe it - they all look the same, right? ;-)

But more recent, and quite courageous Chinese scholarship has poured cold water on this myth, and archaeological digs are now taking place all over southern China and are finding enormous cultural differences across the supposedly "all-Han" areas.

Stay tuned - as China liberates itself, you will start to see credible scholarship emerging which will lay out the full diversity of its heritage.

EasyTimes – in response to your question, I have grown up in multicultural Australia. My playground friends had parents from China, Lebanon, India and Turkey. In my adult life, I've learnt songs in many languages, been a guest in many different homes, and associated in business and in my personal life with people from many backgrounds.

That is living multiculturalism, not an ideology. More to the point, EasyTimes, my lifestyle has done you no harm whatsoever. So what's the problem? So you went to an internet cafe where everyone spoke Korean. Diddums. Given they were in their mid-20s and couldn't speak English, I think you'll find many of them were international students over here to learn English. Thousands of Koreans spend the last 3-4 years of high school working to save enough money to come here for 1-2 years English tuition – so they can get a decent job back in Korea. English language teaching is worth billions of dollars a year to the Australian economy. And DIMA checks the attendance roll and deports those who miss more than one day per week. I witnessed this when training in an ESL college. It's the real deal.

Boaz

How are you mate? Don't let that SKhan (who I believe is the Marickville councillor that thinks having signs in English is racist even though, being a Muslim, he comes from a country where religious and ethnic minorities are treated like dirt.

That vile youth leader (are their any Islamic leaders which aren't immoral, and have the personalities of conmen? Apart from their women leaders that is, some of whom seem almost western in their thinking) had the name of FADHI RAHMAN, but for SKhan to call him imaginary means he doesn't want to believe he said that Lebanese feel superior to Australians, with a big smirk on his face.

How do they feel superior? Honestly, how? I could say some really mean, but truthful things here....

SKhan,

Only, repeat, ONLY, western nations, such as the nation you live in aren't racist.

That is why you are here mate, and likely that is why you have to hate us and call such a simple thing like having signs in English racist (let me ask you, do you support multiculturalism in your "real country"?)

I feel sorry for those radical Muslims too, who feel (astonishingly) that they are superior to us( I can understand how the germans, or any western Europeans could get carried away with thinking that considering they have thinkers, scientists, they are inventors, have art, music, in other words real culture - not just some dumb traditions, they question everything about themselves, which Muslims can't hack because they know our value system, not us, really is superior to their Sharia because it is based on REASON and LOGIC, i.e, no concept of Dhimmitude.

By the way, I hope people here know that while the US in particular is thought related to slavery, the west made up no more than 1.5% of the world market.

Most slavery occured in the Islamic world, and Africa, and still does today with the Asian workers who are housemaids, often underpaid, beaten, even raped by some of these most "pious" Saudi Arabians...........

...Yet, like Paedophilia, because it is ONLY talked about in the west, it is seen as a western thing.

Well I've got news for you, SKhan likely already knows about Mohammed's six yr old wife (which I write off as a product of the times) but that most revered Khoemeini also had child brides.

Is such behaviour sanctioned in Islam SKhan?

Look forward to your long and convoluting answer, if you bother. Although you didn't respond to Abyss q's in the other post (because you couldn't, but that you chose to respond to him of all the posts there shows what he said was spot on)

ON THIS SHEIK HILALI thing, does anyone else agree that, now that Muslim leaders have actually defended him and let him continue, that unless the Muslim public protest in the street and don't attend his hate mosque, then Australian-Australians are fair to generalise that they must agree with him?

Any responses to this that disagree must be based on reason otherwise they are pointless.

Good luck.

Multiculturalism is a farce put upon us to control people. People who push multiculturalism are not real supporters because they want to experience the foods, the costumes, the languages, etc but don't want to experience their cultural laws for that is then labelled as oppression.

If you really want multiculturalism, then you must accept all avenue's of these cultures including honour killings, the beating and murder of women who have been raped, tongues removed, the Godfather principles held by many cultures. Yet this is why the government is calling for such changes because under multiculturalism, immigrants come to western nations wanting to treat people how they like for it is their culture.

Interestingly, it is these do gooders who are intent on denying the caucasion Australian from retaining their own culture and heritage on the basis that it is racist to do so. Such in the conspiracy of the liberalists and marxists(et al.). All they want is control.

Not that I support segregation, I don't. I do find it interesting though that the Nazi sites are not calling for deaths to blacks, jews and so on but a segregation, claiming that by segregating, one encourages people to retain their own culture and remain free of pressure to conform to another's culture as we are seeing in the west.