Foxy,
No, I will not dance to another tune because I think that high migration and multiculturalism are central to most of our social problems in Australia.

No ethnic problem you say. Try this one http://au.news.yahoo.com/exclusive-dozens-of-australian-child-brides-forced-into-illegal-marriages-35597902.html

This is about child marriage in NSW for a two year period. 34 aged 16-17, 12 aged 14-15, 7 aged 10-13, 4 aged under 10. Of these 51 were in Sydney and no religion is given but you can bet the vast majority are muslim. These are ONLY the reported ones with registered marriages, anyone guess as to the unregistered marriages and those taken overseas for marriage. That is what I term turning a blind eye. It is the same with FGM, except for NSW no state has prosecutions and the guilty were given 'home detention'. No data from hospitals on FGM so the blind eye is turned again. Refugees on sexual asualt charges have been dismissed on 'cultural grounds'.

Since both major political parties have colluded not to debate immigration issues, it is up to the public the raise these important matters. Where are those self important female politicians on the issues of child marriages (child abuse) and former husbands raping their former wives

kactuz,

Please don't put words into my mouth.

I did not say Muslims are wonderful.

That is your interpretation of what you thought I said.

I spoke about fundamentalism, and what that entailed.
And tried to point out the fact that not all
Muslims are terrorists. I also have always stressed that
anyone who breaks our laws should
be punished appropriately according to our
laws.

I don't go for arguments that are rooted in generalisations
and so ignore the differences among individuals. Also I
don't know that much about the teachings of Islam - so I
am in no position to judge any other religion than my own.
And even that - I'm not an expert on.

You seem to be making judgements about people you don't really
know, as well as a religion that you probably don't really know.
You're going on the assumption that all Muslims share the
same supposed traits and you blame the majority for the
actions of a few. That I find unacceptable.
Stereotyping, scapegoating, does not interest me.
Sadly - We appear to be so far apart in our thoughts
on this matter that any further discussion would be
pointless.

Have a nice day.

Dear Banjo,

I understand your concern about child brides and FGM.
To help solve this problem we need a coordinated
national policy on how to assist the victims and of
course education is also the key.

The UK is trying
these sorts of programs.

FGM has been a crime in NSW
for decades and all our states and territories in
Australia have had similar laws which make it illegal
not only to subject a girl to either FGM or a child
marriage - but also to take her out of the country
to have these procedures. All of the Freedom of
Information requests
and reporting requests only show that this doesn't work.
Reporting to the police has also failed - and no charges
have been laid.

The best way to deal with this problem is - as I've stated,
we need a coordinated national policy on how to assist
victims. Hopefully with enough education of women - they
will begin to co-operate to prevent their daughters from
experiencing these illegal customs. Also as more females
get into Parliament such as Anne Aly - something may get
done. More publicity is needed on these issues - and
it would be great if people like Ed Husic, Anne Aly and
others were to raise these issues in our Parliament.

Foxy,
If I thought you were right about education being the way to go, to reduce child marriages, I would agree. But we have been educating groups for 24 years at great cost about FGM and the incidence appears to be rising. No FGM Aus estimates that there are 1100 girls at risk each year. So education has failed along with police reporting and the judiciary have all failed because of weak politicians.The issues of FGM and child marriages, as with cock fighting, can all be hidden easily and is why the cultural practices exist.

You mention the UK, well it is in a worse situation than us as they cannot get one FGM conviction but record far higher number of FGM victims. I am thankful that we have not, as yet, had muslim gangs grooming girls to become cheap prostitutes, but that may come.

It is with reluctance that I came to the conclusion that the only way to prevent further alien cultural practices is to stop the immigration of people from those groups that cause us grief and have contempt for our society and laws. This action will not lessen the problems but contain them.

I think there is one Imam in Victoria now charged with child marriage and it will be interesting to see that outcome. Weak politicians chasing the muslim vote is a huge problem for us, and apathy

Good Evening Banjo,

Let me see if I understand you correctly.
You are concerned about FGM and child
brides and your answer to fix this problem
is to ban all Muslim immigration into our
country?

How is that going to help the victims?

BTW - FGM and child brides are not religious
practices. They are cultural practices and are found
mainly in parts of Africa and the Middle East.

For us to end female genital mutilation and child
brides we need a multi-sectoral approach including
education and the empowerment of women (including
mothers and grand-mothers) to enable them in
partnership with their communities, supported by
health professionals and child protection authorities,
under-pinned by legislation banning both FGM and child
brides.

Unlike the United Kingdom Australia has no national
integrated FGM or child bride prevention policy linking
health, education and community services.
This should be a priority. As should be - enabling women
mums and grans to form a compact of protection for their
daughters and grand-daughters - as a powerful way forward.

Banning Muslim immigration won't achieve anything.

I'm not sure if everyone understands the enormity, the absolutely huge size and scale of this.
The idea of education is a nonsense.
This will absolutely not get any traction what-so-ever.
It's too late.
Mohammad started it and the Imams have promoted it.
It has been the most successful act of grooming and creating a cult in the history of mankind.
If anyone seriously attempted to educate, they would have to start with the Imams.
HAH, good luck with that.
The followers of Islam mostly fear their peers.
I'm sure if those people could be assured of a safe and free life if they dropped Islam, they would.
Those of weak character and minds and lacking courage know no better and were easy targets to 'suck in'.
They will not relinquish Islam.
One does not have to know the whole story to get a 'feel' for something.
If Islam teaches to hate and kill the infidels, how on earth are we to interpret that any other way than it is promoted?
Unless someone can counter with an angle of fear if they continue worshiping Islam, maybe.
You see fear was the tool of choice through the ages.
'Put the fear of God in you'.
It is not possible to re-educate someone without an incentive.
Because the true believers are weak of mind and do not believe in themselves, which is a key factor in people turning to religion, it is difficult to sway such a powerful force.
As a comedian once asked a Muslim.
According to the Koran, when you die you will go to Allah and he will give you a dozen virgins.
Did Allah happen to mention if the virgins were male or female?