A fundamental problem to your argument is the fact that school only consumes a minority of a child's time. There's plenty of time for parents to teach their children other languages and their culture and literature at home. Especially, considering that a child learns to speak during the years prior to going to school.

Assuming that they can already speak Arabic before they get to school (if the kid can't then that's not a problem of the school system-- but rather the child's parents). Then it is only the reading and writing of the second language that needs to be considered.

Let's do some numbers- Given that there are 16 non-sleeping hours a day (assuming a healthy 8hrs sleep) that gives 16*365=5840hr/year. Now mandatory primary schooling, in Australia anyway, only goes for about 40 weeks a year after removing holidays. There are five school days a week. Each school day goes for about 6 to 7 hours, so let's say 8.5 hrs a day is spent on primary school activities (eg: including travel time) this gives 40*5*8.5=1700hr/year.

So all up school takes at most about 1700/5840=0.29, ie. 29% of the non-sleeping hours of a child's primary school life. That leaves more than 2/3rds of their time free for the parents to teach them reading, writing in another language and for the kids to read their literature.

Basically, your argument that Muslims suffer due to not being able to be taught in their native tongue and cultural setting is total BS. Indeed, many other minority groups in society seems to manage to learn a second language and keep their cultural inheritance intact and still be exceptionally high achievers academically, eg: a lot of Jewish people can speak two more languages and be intimately familiar with their history and sail through to tertiary education and beyond even when raised in non-Jewish countries. As a group they are very well educated and high intellectual achievers eg. about 20% of Nobel prize winners in the science fields have been Jewish and yet they make up less than 1% of the population.

If Muslims wish their children to learn Arabic and the traditions of their people then it is their responsibility not that of the State.

Irish and Scottish people in Australia have their cultural Associations where their culture and language can be studied, likewise Indians and other ethnic groups.
So why can't Muslims do the same?

It's probably fear that if there is no compulsion then the culture and language use will die out.

"No one has any problem when: Jews keep beards and wear their traditional caps Christian priests and nuns wear their religious outfits Buddhist monks wear orange robes Sikhs keep beards and wear turbans Indian aunties wear Sarees (cross streets and hang out in Wal-Mart)" - Iftikhar

Firstly none of the ethnically dressed people you list are from religions associated with potential terrorist groups; their style of dress is non-threatening as are their religions.

Second, where are you Iftikhar, are you in Australia or not? There are no WalMarts in this country and what's wrong with Indian women crossing the street? WTF are you talking about?

Third, as Suse mentioned above, the British education system and whether or not it suits all Muslim pupils has nothing to do with Australia. That's not our problem and we can't do anything about it even if we wanted to.

You ramble on about the need for state funded Muslim schools; how about seeking funding from the rich Arab states if its such an important issue.

It appears to me you advocate keeping Muslim children pigeon holed into the parameters of out dated Muslim morals and values rather than risk the chance the children might grow up with an open mind and possibly start asking the same tough questions many non-Muslim people ask. Any philosophy and/or way of life needs to be able to stand up to scrutiny and be mature enough to handle criticism and debate. Advocating death for non-believers is not appropriate in a modern world (including the Muslim countries).

Why aren't you advocating a 'One People, One Planet' approach where we all get on board to make our world a better place; a world where people are not divided by religion or their skin colour? Advocating separate schools for Muslim children is a form of elitist (and possibly ignorant) segregation.

'My religion is better than yours' is a very destructive never ending path. Come on Iftikhar, its time to join the modern world and to set yourself and your people free.

I don't know if this poster lives here or the UK. However he has posted this subject many times. This was my reply in 2009

csteele,
Thanks for the link. This is the second time this poster has put up the same post so I take it as part of the continuing aim to further the influence of Islam in Western countries. I expect our friend Kayser Trad to again raise the issue of polygamy again shortly.

If the poster was genuinely concerned with a problem for muslims in the UK, he would restrict his postings to that country.

"One day millions of men will leave Arabia to go to Europe. And they will not go there as friends. They will go there to conquer it. And they will conquer it with their sons. The wombs of our women will give us victory."former Algerian president Houari Boumedienne in about 1975.

The UK and Europe ignored this statement, to their detriment, and now have massive problems brought on by multiculturalism and bad migration policy. For example each public holiday in France is marked by riots and car burning. Last new years eve they burnt 1147 cars in France and the authorities were pleased it was not more. By 2015, Sweden will be 50% muslim, and that is not far off.

The UK already has limited polygamy and some aspects of Sharia law has been introduced. There is widespread FGM and estimated 3000 forced marriages each year.

Many muslims see themselves as pioneers for Islam as our forebears did in Aus. We can expect continuing presure to adopt muslim cultural ways and even more so as their numbers grow.

If the issue is only about education then i agree with Bronwyn.

Posted by Banjo, Wednesday, 16 September 2009 12:25:48 P

Iftikhar: British Jews went to Israel to fight but on their return no action was taken against them.

They didn’t return & adocate an overthrow of the British Government by violence either. They are not a threat to the British people.

Iftikhar: The West has never been at ease with Islam since the Crusades.

Let’s not forget that moslims invaded & stole the lands from the Byzantine Holy Roman Empire in the first place. It wasn’t until the moslim Hordes threatened Europe that the Crusades took place in an effort to recover their own lands.

Iftikhar: It is unfortunate that huge oil supplies lie under the Arabian Deserts.

&, Dare I say, that Oil would still be there, in the ground, if the West hadn’t dug it up. The Middle East would still be swinging from Date trees at an Oasis if they hadn’t. Except for Israel, of course.

Iftikhar: Those Muslim youths who have been involved in terrorism and sexual grooming are the product of western education system which makes a man stupid, selfish and corrupt.

Nothing to do with the likes of Choudrey & his ilk, I suppose?

Conservativehippie: Firstly none of the ethnically dressed people you list are from religions associated with potential terrorist groups; their style of dress is non-threatening as are their religions.

Amen to that.

Religious indoctrination of any kind should not be the job of the public schools. Any teaching of religion in the public schools should just tell the ideas and beliefs of the different religions without pushing any of them. As a taxpayer I do not want to finance the promulgation of any religion. You want a religious school of any kind pay for it. Don't ask for it from the taxpayers.