Completely with CJ's last post.

Australia till the 1970's was as whitebread and boring as, well, as whitebread - thank god for immigration! Where would I be without my big bowl of Pho and chilies.

Also agree that I didn't want to get into mozzie bashing either; hence my last post discussed the necessity of separation of church and state, be the church Islamic, Christian, Hindu or Callathumpian.

Agree also that this topic is simply a troll-piece in disguise as serious discussion - just a bit more clever of Steven than a Polly-rant.

Celiva
I asked that question to point out another mind set to the third generation Aussies.

Of 'course' if your not from Australia you would miss the types of foods and yes it would be boreing.


The food is hardely the point I was making.

*This thread is about Sharia Law in the UK.*

Let me tell you ladies and gentleman its here in Australia as well.

Our State Government have allowed Sharia Law it to be applied to abattoirs in Australia for quite some time.

Despite the fact its been deemed unlawful under animal welfare codes. Much of it is for domestic use and some for export.

The federal Government have also turned a blind eye and allowed animals to be slaughtered without pre stunning as is the requirment for Sharia law.

As a matter of fact I think it was about eight years or so ago the Howard Government were asked to turn Australia into a Halal Country. Meaning all animals were to be slaughtered in that manner.

Howard said no but I am not so sure what Rudd promised.

*I shudder to think.*

For those of you who think I am only talking about animal welfare- think again. ( not that Animal welfare shouldnt be the first concern)

It doesnt stop there . Its unlawful to eat 'anything' that isnt Halal if your a Muslim.

Secondly the Islamic councils are paid to bless each animal.

Just imagine if our catholic Church had set up in the manner that they were paid for everything people ate - And it was unlawful to eat food from any other source.

You have to say old Mohamed must have been a clever biz man if nothing else.

Of course our main concern is for the animals so we work as hard as possible to assist the Muslims to supply their meat in as kind manner as possible.

The THUTH is Australian Islamic Leaders have so far shown far more concern for Animals in Australia than the Australian Church Leaders or members of our Parliment.

So there`s some more food for thought.

To allow Sharia law to be implemented in Australia would be a seriously retrograde step. For a start, the sorts of "punishment" provided in Sharia courts break any number of Australian laws as we know them. Do we want to start flogging female rape victims in the streets and stoning them to death (believe it or not, these "honour killings" are known to have occurred in both Canada and Scotland)? Chopping the hands off thieves? The deprivation of all civil liberties for women?

PALE, I think you probably should revise your comments a little more in line with the facts. The Federal Government review of animal slaughter has not yet concluded. The slaughtering of sheep in Victorian slaughterhouses without stunning was in fact for kosher purposes (you guessed in, for a Middle East contract), not halal. AQIS advises that no further licences for this will be issued until the review is concluded.

Having said that, the slaughtering of any animal without pre-stunning should remain illegal, and any change of Australian laws and standards of animal welfare to address the preferences of minorities should be treated as just that. A preference of a minority. If these people want to live in Australia (and eat Australian animals) they must have to live by the laws of this country and not seek to lower Australian standards (which are not that great to begin with)

Nicky

PALE,
I agree that it’s unacceptable that animals are being slaughtered in a cruel way during Halal or Kosher slaughter. Freedom of religion should not be an excuse for animal abuse.
There is not even a logical reason why animals can’t be stunned before Halal slaughter. When I researched this in the past, I found that science indicated that there is no more blood loss from an unstunned animal than from a stunned animal. So Muslims can have their Halal animal, and eat it, too.

While ritual slaughter is unacceptable, I also find it unacceptable that profit influences how the “real” Australians you talk about treat animals. Locking farm animals in small cages for most of their lives is animal abuse but ‘real’ Australians end the torture of their animals in a less cruel way than Muslims do and then feel free to criticise Muslims for their cruel slaughtering methods.

Is torturing animals in the name of religion more wrong than torturing them in the name of greed and profit?
Both are wrong, but too much emphasis is being placed on the bad practices of Muslims while ‘real’ Australians have blood on their hands, too.

If Halal slaughter is a reason to oppose multi-culturalism, then intensive farming should be a reason to oppose ‘real’ Australianism by the same logic.

The government simply needs to update animal laws, give no exemptions, and help farmers with incentives to set up free-range farms, that’s all.

Steven,
“The issue is whether the parties to the dispute are in a POSITION TO REFUSE if they so choose.”
I expressed my thoughts about that already. I have no doubt that there will be Muslims, especially women, who would not have free choice.
Who would be on those boards anyway- probably a far larger proportion of men then women?
I also still don’t understand how there can be one set of Sharia laws since there is much diversity amongst Muslims and so many interpretations.

Okay, let's summarise the arguments for multiculturalism:

1) The British-derived "whitebread" monoculture of pre-1970s Australia was too "boring" and needed to be "enriched".

2) If there were no exotic immigrant minorities, how could we get all those delicious foreign foods?

3) You can make new friends among people of different races and cultures.

Never mind the great burden to the host society by importing all of these fractious, ethnocentric types into this country so that they can expand their power and numbers at the expense of the existing "whitebread" population. Never mind that ever-increasing ethnic and cultural "diversity" threatens to make the nation itself incoherent.

I guess the prospect of Australia's founding people and culture being marginalised and minoritised just doesn't bother the diversity worshippers, nor does the prospect of Australia becoming an incoherent hodgepodge of disparate and rival ethnic groups. Just as long as Australia isn't "whitebread" and "boring"!

*PALE, I think you probably should revise your comments a little more in line with the facts*

Nicky,
If only I could do that. The Government can play around with telling people what they like but I bet they didn’t tell you it’s been happening here for donkey’s ages.
The review consists of some stuff from Germany.

I am afraid what the Government tells you and what are really going on are two different things.

Domestic Halal slaughter without pre stunning is allowed by State Governments and has been for a long time.

Also I think you will find John Howard sighed an agreement two years ago allowing some to go through AQIS.

Regarding Kosher according to the authorities they don’t allow it – unless it’s a special pre order (What a load of bull)

Celiva
I couldn’t agree more with you that intensive farming should be stopped.
I think our churches should do something to stop this cruelty in our Gods name.
There is no doubt it’s both wrong but we as Christians tend to be more easy going – in so much as we don’t dictate what people can eat wear etc.

Regardless this thread is about Sharia law in Britain. I am just letting people know it’s already here. It has been for ages.

Like I said God knows what Rudd promised.