“But such a primitive outlook is not unique to Islam.”

Perhaps not. But Islam is the problem in Australia. And to say that the Islamic Council of Victoria has “criticised him (Halali) strongly” is nonsense in light of Waleed Aly’s attitude. The dust has settled, and Halali will be back amongst his very strong supporters soon.

Halali is merely one of the extremists we hear most from. The silence of all other Muslims – and those few with “qualified” criticism of him – is the real problem in Australia. Halali at least we know about

We urge different cultures to bring parts of that culture with them when they come here. Such differences might be a quadrigamist who represents a particular 'value' in a particular ethnic group. At one time that was against our laws and customs so we are capable of change. Another difference might be the celebration of some 'National Day' of a distinct ethnic group. The celebrations might involve the wearing of a national costume and customary dance. Such activities usually attract the Minister for Very Broad Smiles who tells us how uplifting such celebrations are. Some who participate at such activities admit that ‘Australian’ values attracted them to our country.

However, when we decide to restate our values it’s seen as being inimical to the broad Australian society. Suddenly the values which attracted migrants to our shores are unpalatable.

And if we are speaking of one particular group we should look beyond pansophist Georgiou to help us distinguish a moderate muslim from a fundamental muslim. Would a moderate muslim be one of the estimated 5000 who supported the sheik’s misogynistic sermon or would it be one of the 20 or so muslims who publicly condemned him? Is a fundamentalist muslim one who would set a bomb and a moderate muslim one who says…’well, these things wouldn’t happen if you changed your foreign policy…or…yes, it’s a tragedy but if Palestine were free….’

Buddhist , Hindu ,pagan and wiccan sermons have managed to be conducted for decades without any grievience caused in this country.

There's religion and then there is the philosophy of faith and the search of enlightenment. Religion demands a shared belief. An Us versus Them. Faith ask for nothing but being open to possibilities beyond our immediate comprehension thus being enlightened. It isn't for the glory of God or social control but, rather for personal spiritual achievement outside the ritual, rhetoric, and dogma of Religion. It doesn't involve any other person so is never threatening to established norms or maneuvering to dominate social opinion and law.
The big three rule and rule is contentious

Baldino's article is a contribution of UNORIGINALITY in the spheres of culture, ideology, and political dominance. It's merely a regurgitation of academic musings about the above three spheres, in the run-of-the-mill parlance of academics.

For example, he considers it to be a profound statement to say, that in all cultures there are different attitudes and interpretations among their peoples. Of course there are! Even in monolithic cultures-ideologies, there are profound differences and interpretations among their votaries. One has only to be reminded of Stalinist Russia, where Stalin eliminated all those who differed with him in the interpretation of Communism.

Baldino totally disregards, and by this he exposes his academic shallowness, that in any "clash between progressives and fundamentalist forces", to quote him, it's the activists and the ruthless who are victorious. In our case, it's the fundamentalist Muslims, such as Sheiks Hilali and Omran that have the PARAMOUNT influence in their communities. As the "moderate" Muslims are either too scared or too "quittists" to take up the fight against the fanatics, and finish up, most often than not, as APOLOGISTS of the latter. This is why it falls upon the GENERAL community of this country to take up the fight against the Muslim fundamentalists in our midst.

For more:http://www.con.observationdeck.org

The author says of Hilali’s rant that "this latest provocation can be interpreted as not a clash between civilisations but one that signals the clash between progressive and fundamentalist forces within one great civilisation" I agree.

It is heartbreaking to see how bigots and extremists within the Islamic community and anti-Islamic bigots and extremists outside it are working together to fuel the spiral of mutual distrust, stereotyping, antagonism and misunderstanding between Islamic and white Australia