[Muanet] Fw: Please distribute across your networks

Wed Feb 22 15:37:50 WST 2006

----- Original Message ----- 

From: Paula Abood <mailto:safasaid at tpg.com.au>  

To: migrationreform at yahoogroups.com 

Sent: Tuesday, February 21, 2006 2:42 PM

Subject: [migrationreform] Please distribute across your networks

Please see below the following statement prepared by a group of women
(community workers and academics) following the latest anti-Muslim
comments made by the Prime Minister. We are seeking support from a
diversity of Australian women and women's organisations to publicly
express condemnation of such views and the ongoing race baiting of the
Muslim Australian community. 

If you agree with this statement, we would like to invite you to endorse
the sentiments expressed here by putting your name and/or your
organisation to it.

Please send your details - name (individual and/or organisation) and
relevant contacts details to
christina.ho at uts.edu.au.
We need to hear from you by 2pm Wednesday 22 February. 

And please send far and wide around your networks. All women are
encouraged to sign on.

Thank you.
Please find below original article detailing comments made by Prime
Minister.

                              Women of Australia Condemn 

                    Anti-Muslim Comments of Prime Minister          

We are a group of Australian women from diverse ethnic and cultural
backgrounds who stand together in condemning the Prime Minister for the
peddling of his Islamophobic views.

After ten years of playing the race card, the Prime Minister's
inflammatory comments about Muslim Australians this week represent a new
low for community relations. Last week, it was Federal Coalition member
Danna Vale demonising Muslim women as little more than breeders. This
week the Prime Minister racially sledges the Muslim community by
singling them out as antagonistic to Australian culture. Howard is
unambiguous in his racialised message when he states, 'It is not a
problem that we have ever faced with other immigrant communities who
become easily absorbed by Australia's mainstream.'

The Prime Minister fails to show any knowledge of either the history of
immigration in Australia or the experiences of waves of immigrants who
have suffered similar racialised views and assaults by his own ethnic
group. His comments demonstrate both prejudice and ignorance writ large.

We take particular issue with the Prime Minister's remark that the
'Islamic community's attitudes towards women is out of line with
mainstream Australian society'.  The very same accusation that a
'culture' has 'poor attitudes to women' was used by Anglo settlers in
Australia to attack Aboriginal communities from the earliest days of
colonisation. Such accusations were made against each new group of
incoming migrants as a way to assert superiority, to whip up the fears
of the existing population and to keep control over the latest arrivals.

Extreme attitudes towards women are not unique to Muslims, or to any
other group for that matter. To say so is playing tawdry politics.
Respect for women in both the public and private sphere has never been
high in any society, and Anglo Australia is no different. If the Prime
Minister seriously believes traditional Aussie beach culture respects
women, then he needs to revisit the classic Australian text Puberty
Blues for a reality check.

While the Prime Minister publicly demonstrates his ignorance about
history and wilfully whitewashes his own ethnic group's attitudes
towards women, he shows even less knowledge about Islam. His comments
display a serious ignorance of the religion itself, and of the diversity
of practices and views of thousands of its followers.  The ongoing
Islamophobic views being expressed through the media via politicians
like John Howard directly feed and propel the attacks on the Australian
Muslim community, the Cronulla race riots being the end result. Where is
the Prime Minister's concern for the countless Muslim Australian women
and girls who have been attacked, abused, spat upon and had their
scarves pulled off by mainstream Anglo Australians? Why doesn't this
extreme form of violence against women and girls warrant his special
attention?

Finally, the Prime Minister asserts that it is his 'right and duty to
express his thoughts'. As Prime Minister of a multi-racial, multi-faith
nation, we believe it is the duty of a Prime Minister to show political
and moral leadership, and not to pander to the lowest common
denominators, those being ignorance, fear and prejudice. Sexist and
misogynist views are widespread throughout the entirety of the
Australian population. No one community has a monopoly on poor attitudes
to women. It crosses party lines.

How ironic that these latest comments coincide with the public release
of a Sydney Morning Herald commissioned poll of voter attitudes which
has found that half of voters believe Australia has become a meaner
place in the ten years since John Howard became Prime Minister. Is it
any wonder with a sledger for a Prime Minister? What a legacy!

Contact: Heather Goodall 0412 925 051
              Christina Ho 02) 9514-1946
              Vivi Koutsounadis (02) 9569 1288.

************************************************************************
********************************************************

PM stands by Muslim comment
Feb 20 2006
Prime Minister John Howard says he stands by his comments that sections
of Australia's Muslim population are antagonistic to Australian culture.

Mr Howard's views are outlined in a book to mark the 10th anniversary of
his rise to power written by journalists and commentators from The
Australian newspaper.

In the book, the prime minister said a commitment to jihad and extreme
attitudes towards women were two problems unique to Muslims that
previous intakes of migrants from Europe and Asia did not have.

Mr Howard said today it was his "right and duty" to express his
thoughts.

"I stand by those comments that there is a small section of the Islamic
population in Australia that, because of its remarks about jihad,
remarks
which indicate an extremist view, that is a problem," Mr Howard told
reporters in Sydney.

"It is not a problem that we have ever faced with other immigrant
communities who become easily absorbed by Australia's mainstream."

Australians wanted people to assimilate, Mr Howard said.

"We want people when they come to Australia to adopt Australians ways.

"We don't ask them to forget the countries of their birth, we respect
all
religious points of views and people are entitled to practise them but
there are certainly things that are not part of the Australian
mainstream."

The Prime Minister also expressed concern about Muslim attitudes to
women.

"There is within some sections of the Islamic community an attitude
towards women which is out of line with mainstream Australian society,"
he said.

"It needs to be dealt with by the broader community, including Islamic
Australia.

"There is really not much point in pretending it doesn't exist."

But Mr Howard said it was important people realised he had made the
comments about Muslims before the Cronulla race riot and subsequent
violence in Sydney.

"I was not trying to make some kind of tawdry political point, it is a
view that I have held for some time," he said.

AAP

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