Hello to all - and what an interesting and informative bunch of posts, and almost completely free of the invective that used to characterise so many postings on OLO.
The one addition I'd like to make is that "Islamophobia" has no legitimacy. It is an attempt to defuse criticism of Islam by delegitimating the critic, specifically, by making opposition to Islam akin to having a medical condition. Point this out to the supporters and apologists of Islam, and ask them to address the question instead.
The implied question of the article is, why is there any opposition to Islam? Because of Islam's history, starting with convert number 1, and going on for the next 1400 years. Any clarification needed?
I also notice that no-one is responding to Irfan's latest piece, on Pakistan, also in this edition of OLO. Has everyone decided to ignore him, just as he used to ignore and/ or abuse posters? Whilst not knowing a lot about Pakistan, I imagine his piece leaves out the bits he'd like us not to know, which was a strategy he commonly employed. (He neglected to point out, for instance, that the founder of modern Pakistan wanted the country to be secular, whilst it was his religous opponents who saw Pakistan as the protection of the subcontinent's Muslims.)

Yes, good point camo. I am not an Islamophobe, I don't "fear" Islam, I just loathe it, as a belief system, and all of its militant adherents. I hold it it the same contempt as the other monotheisms... maybe just a little more contempt than the other two actually.

Irfan loves to dismiss opponents of Islam as "cultural warriors," a cheap shorthand way of saying that all who oppose Islam can be lumped into one convenient basket for his lampooning.

Irf's attitude thrives in a relativist landscape but to those tending to this disposition, I would recommend this piece by Kenan Malik:

http://www.marxists.org/subject/africa/malik/not-equal.htm

I think the challenge ahead for western democracies, is to ensure that the gains that have been fought for and achieved over centuries of enlightenment, are not squandered through gutless pandering to the dogmatic claims of the followers of a brutal stone-age tribal warlord.

On another topic, I note that the Saudis are considering allowing women to drive. Big of them.

Hello Proud, no-one else seems to have taken up your plea, so I thought I might.
At the end of your piece you say that you are obeying all Islamic laws - that is a significant part of the problem. When Islamic laws and the laws of your adopted country conflict, which are you going to choose, and on what grounds?
Secondly, on what grounds are you going to resist the calls by your co-religionists that Muslims in Australia must live under Sharia, and not be subject to the laws which every one else in the country must abide by?
Lastly, on what grounds are you going to argue against your co-religionists when they want everyone, Muslim and not, to live under Sharia? And what if the version of the Sharia they want you and everyone else to live under is rather like the Saudi Arabian version?

As someone else has commented, when the Islamic armies conquered and invaded the Byzantine empire, the population was, at least nominally, christian. By the year 1900, the christian population of Turkey (the successor to the heart of the Byzantine empire) was around 30%. Now the figure is down to less than 1%. And this is just one example.

As many who read this will know, I'm not a christian. But I have no desire to live under any sectarian system, and especially not an Islamic one.

For the first time in history, Muslims are choosing in large numbers to live in non-Muslim countries. Islam never anticipated this, and there is no precedent or theory to help Muslims, or their new hosts, to cope with it. Only Muslim superiority, as far as Muslims are concerned.

Having completed a Diploma in Islamic Studies at UNE with a thesis on Islamic Schools in Australia, I feel able to offer reassurances to some of the commentators in this blog. There are some 27 Islamic Schools in Australia, all partly state funded and following the national curriculum plus six or so hours a week on Islam, the Qur'an and Arabic, rather much the same addition as the conservative Christian schools and Jewish schools in Australia. This makes them different from a lot of Islamic Schools in other countries like the UK.

The Muslim Schools Charter specifically condemns terrorism in the name of Islam and all the schools subscribe to the Australian Values Charter. Only 10% of Muslim students in Australia attend these schools which started in 1983 in Sydney and Melbourne, but today there are others in Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra. For the record, security experts state that no "Islamic terrorists" hail from an Islamic school in Australia ....

Over 60% of private schools in Australia are Catholic and the vast majority of new schools that have started up since 1996 are conservative Christian schools.

Hope this helps. Fair enough to oppose all private education but you cannot oppose Islamic Schools if you allow all the others. The Islamic schools also do a lot of interfaith outreach with other Jewish and Christian schools.