Cornflower

I have to comment on the statement about a 13 year old boy who ‘cannot be a Jew’ until even more of his foreskin is removed. As one born into an old Australian Jewish familly who attended a mainstream Anglo-orthodox Synagogue until I got sick of it, I must say I had never heard of such a ridiculous thing.

It must have been in one of the odd extremist groups. I do not know of any Jews who would consider someone not Jewish because of the extent of the circumcision, indeed any who would not heap scorn on the Rabbi concerned. In fact the boy celebrated his Bar Mitzvah in a reform Synagogue and probably could have done so in most orthodox Synagogues if his parents had made the right choice in the first place.

The boy will be considered Jewish by most other Jews. The only ones that wont will be from that strange group and he will never want to associate with them.

Mercurius,

Well if you dont need a blow-by-blow account of sick sheik's holy preaching[actually it's a word-by-word], just close your eyes and skip the post.

I am sure you are bothered by christians/jews and that's why you often complained about that but I am surprised that you are not bothered about sheik's shake.

Anyways, if you are happy with sheik's take, why should I bother with you? And I am a hypocrite in your sight. Enjoy!

TurnLeftthenRight - so very true.

I don't like Muslims trying to denounce his views in the media. Why should they have to? To avoid the dumber-than-thou Australian public thinking all Muslims are the same? That's probably going to happen anyway. So why bother?

When the Pope made his comments did anyone say "deport him"? Did ordinary, everyday Catholics appear on Channel Ten saying they denounce the Pope's views? Or that they agree with him? No.
When the cartoons were published what did people say to the bad reaction from the Muslim world?
"Freedom of speech"
What did they say about the Pope?
Freedom of speech.

I say let him be. Not only are we responding to his comments via the infiltration from the media (which is so biased it's not even funny anymore) but Australia is overreacting. Sure his comments seem abhorrent - but you can choose to interpret them as you wish.

Some may look at what he's saying to be that women who are undressed are more powerful than men because men cannot help themselves and women are calling the shots. Either way I'm not really offended personally because he's just another person with another view.
So why all the hoopla over it? Why the call to deport anyone who seems "Un-Australian"?

Also, clearly the hijab and the veil is a topic people know nothing about. Let’s look at context shall we? During civil war in Saudi Arabia, women could not leave their homes without the threat of being raped by the soldiers. As a way of protecting the women Mohammed told them to cover themselves up so the men would not approach them.

His intentions were quite nice actually. Maybe the Sheik learnt a different Islam to the rest of us people who are actually educated about Islam (although you can’t blame him. It’s a pretty exclusive group in the minority. membership: 8).

Nice article professor. A much needed breath of fresh air.

fleurette

You are in fact right. However we cannot deport the Pope, who has never even lived here, or the Sheik who is an Australian citizen. But he did you must admit damn most of the his fellow countrymen to Hell which is a bit over the top.

It is not a perfect world and Australians of the Islamic faith would be well advised to dissasociate themselves from his viewpoint. This is not the same as denouncing his views, it is a matter of saying he does not belong to us. Rightly or wrongly Islam is facing a lot of criticism as a result of the actions of a few and the Sheik did an enormous amount of damage.

Gee BOAZ,
For somebody who claims to be religious, you seem to be constantly seething with anger.

If burkhas are like swastikas then what are yarmulks, saris, kilts and turbans supposed to be like? Maybe we should all be wearing identical Mao jackets to minimise the possibility of visual offence.

Religion is not what causes the problem - it's ignorance and intolerance.

Benjamin, I believe any human being is capable of racism, including you. Unfortunately, you didn’t get the irony and the unintentional humour of screaming to the world that you’re sick of redneck cultures. And you still don’t get it, which goes beyond being funny into just being sad.

It’s a logical fallacy, and quite mischievous of you, to suggest that because I point out the racist element amongst Australians, I therefore believe other people aren't capable of racism.

Every single one of us is capable of racism. And the only way to reduce racism is to start with the person whose actions, ideas an opinions you can actually affect: your own.

Your cries of treason are rhetorical overreach. You will see from my posts in other articles on this forum that I have described the Sheik as, amongst other things, a lunatic, a nutbag and a crank. So, not guilty, your honour.

The thing is, I would use the same adjectives to describe the former Governor-General, and anybody, of whatever background, including many police, judges and priests over the years, who espoused beliefs that are substantially the same as what the Sheik said. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

And so, contrary to your claim, I judge all people by the same standards - and no lesser or greater condemnation applies. I don’t actually see an “ethnic other” (as you suggest) to which different standards should apply. Yet some people have the hide to call me a relativist, when it is they who carry on about “ethnicity” and “others” and “cultural standards”. What I see is human beings, all of us.

So Benjamin, if you are any harsher in your criticism of the Sheik than you are of people from other backgrounds who believe the same things as he (and there are many who do, and they say so in good English), then it’s fair to ask whether racism or religious prejudice is driving your condemnation that much harder.