@Iftikhar, Sunday, 17 August 2014 2:49:39 AM

I sincerely hope that British authorities do not give in to your misrepresentations and intolerance.

However you are in with a shot with the self-loathing Left, feminists and political 'Progressives'. Although you would already know that.

Iftikhar,
The British are a complex lot indeed. On one hand they gave so much to science & exploratation but on the other hand their complacency & greed countered all their achievements. Hence the mess they're in now.
Australia is obviously not learning from the british experience & trundles headlong in the same direction. Fortunately though Australia has lots of people from non-british heritage & it'll be those people who will eventually put a stop to the antics of the islamics. Islamics have proven that they can't govern. Look at those previously highly civilised cultures in the lands now occupied by islamics, they've all gone down the drain. Islamics are very effective in destroying everything but utterly hopeless in building up.
I only wished the westerners had the conviction for their society as the islamics have for theirs. That's one field Islamics could teach us something other than mayhem & misery.

Iftikhar, has it ever occurred to you, that if Muslims don't like the mainstream British institutions, they should have stayed where they damn well were. They were presumably happy with the institutions where they came from, or would not want to install them in the UK.

Of course we realise they are, just like they are here in Oz, only there for the welfare.

They can't run a civilisation, & everywhere they go failure & conflict follow.

Rather than allow changes to their institutions, the British should refuse welfare to anyone who can not fill out the necessary forms, personally, in English. That way England might have some chance of remaining a country worth living in. Give in to the demands of these disgusting people, & the Brits have had it.

Dear SPQR,

I'm sure we all have people that we wouldn't want to live
next door to. However broadly speaking - I see Australia's
cultural diversity as a strength which makes for a
dynamic society. Within a framework of our laws all Australians
have the right to express their culture and beliefs. They have
a right to be different, to protect their traditions, to
remember their languages. The concept of "mutual respect"
is important.

Australia can never go back to where it was before white
settlement, where it was in 1901, where it was before
Whitlam and Fraser, and where it was before Mabo.
We are a nation of diversity and all the contradictions that
go with it. Managing these contradictions is our inheritance
today and multiculturalism our best, even if imperfect
guide.

Galaxy polls show most Australians think multiculturalism
works well. A Galaxy poll run exclusively for News Limited
revealed people's attitudes in the run up to Australia Day
last year. One in 10 said multiculturalism worked very well
and made Australia what it is. Migration has made an
enormous contribution to Australia's culture, economy,
and social fabric.

Of course there are a small minority of people -
who want to go back
to the times that saw homogeneity as not only desirable
but mandatory and to which judging from some comments on
this and other discussions on this forum these people would
have us return.

Most Australians however, are overwhelmingly
very tolerant and the majority approve of the benefits of
our diversity. Afterall of Australia's 22 million people
about 44 per cent were either born overseas or one of
both of the parents were born overseas.

Of the thousands of international students studying in
Australia, a significant number are Muslims from
countries such as Malaysia, India and Pakistan. Many have
settled in Australia under the government's "skilled
migration" program after completing studies at their
own expense and are making a great contribution to our
society. Unfortunately we don't get to read about those
very often. The media tends to print what's newsworthy,
rather than what is typical.

Dear Iftikar,

We've covered this many times on this forum.

If anyone wants a special religious teaching
for their children - they should send those children
to special schools. State schools are for everybody -
not any special group. People have a choice when it
comes to their children's education. It is not the
responsibility of any government to provide each and
every person with special education.
That is the responsibility of the parents to do.

In Australia for example, all Australians are free to
follow any religion they choose so long as its
practices do not break any Australian law. Australians
are also free not to follow a religion. We have a
secular government. We have state and private schools,
and parents have a choice of what sort of education
they want to provide for their children.

If you are unhappy with the state of affairs as they
currently exist in England -
concerning the education of Muslim children perhaps you
should contact the leading Muslim Communities in ways
that this problem could be solved. Such as financing
more Muslim Schools being built or - some sort of
"User pays" programs or scholarships at existing Muslim Schools
for Muslim children, and so on. There are solutions to your
problem - but simply complaining about them won't solve
anything for you.

Foxy,
Good sentiments !