Muslims Respond to 'Attacks' on Islam - in Sydney

I recently heard about a rally planned for a local park (in Lakemba) for Sunday 19th September organised by 'Various Muslim Community organisations'. Here is what the flyer said:

BANNING THE HIJAB
SLANDERING THE PROPHET (PBUH)
BANNING OUR MINARETS
BURNING THE QUR'AN
ATTACKING OUR MOSQUES

The hijab and niqab have increasinly been under the spotlight in the West and are the subject of attacks by Western media, politicians and academics who portrayed them as being tools of oppression to suppress women. After gaining momentum in Europe, the debate has emerged in Australia with the introduction of a bill into the NSW Legislative Council to criminalise the public wearing of face coverings such as the niqab.

The attack on the niqab does not occur in isolation. It comes at a time in the West when all things Islamic have been, and continue to be, targetted, attached and questioned: Our Prophet (saw), Islamic schools, mosques, the teaching of the Quran in schools, halal food, minarets and Islamic values and practices. Thus the attack on the niqab is not about the niqab itself but is an attack on it as a symbol of Islam. It is Islam itself that Western policy makers and media seek to challenge.

The Muslim community must not, and will not remain silent while matters concerning us are debated by the rest of society. We ask all men, women and children to join us at this important event to defend the honour of our sisters, the sanctity of our Deen, and the adherence to our Islam.

The front of the flyer declared:
It's time to UNITE & STAND WITHOUT FEAR!
STAND UP FOR YOUR ISLAM!
ALL MUSLIMS MUST ATTEND!

The rally was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald HERE. Apparently about 2000 people attended. The event was reported in the following terms:

Islamic values are superior to ''flawed'' Western secular values and non-Muslims are in no position to lecture Muslims about the oppression of women, a speaker said yesterday at a Sydney rally against proposals to ban the burqa.

''Despite the intense negative propaganda against Islam and in particular the lies about its treatment of women, the number of Western women embracing Islam continues to rise at a rapid rate,'' said Fautmeh Ardati, a member of the Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir. ''By turning their backs on this flawed way of life, it is testament of the superiority of Islamic values over Western values.''

First Priority for Bob Brown and the Greens: Euthanasia Laws!

Not long after the Greens in the NSW Parliament have gained an amendment to the Adoption Act to allow gay couples the 'right' to adopt (in preference to the 'rights' of a child to have a mother and a father), federal Greens leader Bob Brown has announced that his first legislative priority in the new Federal parliament will be to change laws which currently prevent the Territories from introducing 'voluntary euthanasia' laws.

Euthanasia was legalised in the Northern Territory, by the (so-called) "Rights of the Terminally Ill Act" in 1995. Soon after, the law was voided by the Commonwealth government by amending the Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978. Before the Commonwealth government made this amendment, however, three people had practiced euthanasia, aided by Dr Philip Nitschke. Brown's goal will be to amend the Northern Territory Act and the corresponding Act for the Australian Capital Territory.

With an increased representation in the federal parliament the Greens are more likely to be able to advance their ultra-progressive and anti-Christian agendas, including Gay rights, Euthanasia, removal of all censorship, removing rights for Christian organisations to prefer to employ Christians and ultimately limiting the ability of Christian groups to proclaim the gospel.

Here is what the article says:

Greens reignite right-to-die debate
SMH September 19, 2010 - 9:57AM
One of the Australian Greens' first parliamentary priorities will be to try to overturn laws which stop the territories from legislating around euthanasia.

Greens leader Bob Brown said today that after ensuring there was more time to debate private member's bills in the new parliament, he would turn his attention to euthanasia laws.

Senator Brown wants to overturn laws that stop the ACT and Northern Territory from legislating on the controversial issue.

"That was a taking away of the democratic rights of the people of the two territories," he told Network Ten.

"This won't bring in euthanasia but it will restore the rights of the territorians to be able to legislate for euthanasia the same as everybody in the states."

Senator Brown said his move was less about discussing the right to die and more about instigating a "full on" debate about territory rights.

Radical Islam Challenges Notions of Freedom

Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali was bishop of Rochester in Britain, a member of the House of Lords and bishop of Raiwind in Pakistan. Below is an extract from an article published yesterday in the Australian. In the article he gives a strong but thoughtful challenge to the idea of accepting Sharia in parrallel with Australian (& British) law. At the present time he is in Australia and is giving a number of public addresses. 




Challenging Islam Challenges Notions of Freedom

IT is often thought the main threat of radical Islamism to the West and, indeed, the world, is terrorism. It is also said to be the isolation of Muslim communities, which allows extremists to recruit people to their cause.


Such views are not mistaken but they confuse effects with causes. What the world has to recognise is that we are not simply dealing with faith, but with a political, social and economic ideology. Radical Islamism is a worldview. Its nearest parallel, despite many differences, is Marxism.

Radical Islamists claim their all-encompassing program for society is rooted in fundamental Islamic sources. They reject the interpretations of Koran and sharia law offered by reformist or moderate Muslims. We must, of course, respect the faith of ordinary Muslims, but the ideology has to be met in a different way.

It is basic to Western societies that there should be one law for all. This idea emerged from the Judaeo-Christian tradition that all humans are made in God's image. It has been mediated by the Enlightenment, which emphasised not only dignity but also liberty.

The radical Islamist vision is absolutist. It applies to every area of human life, including politics, business and, above all, law itself. Recent demands by British and some Australian Muslim leaders for the recognition of aspects of sharia law should be seen in this light. Western clergy and jurists who advocate such demands fail to recognise that acknowledging aspects of sharia in public law will lead to a greater involvement with Islamic law.

He Concludes . . .

While we should all be committed to civility in public discussion, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights already provides protection from incitement to religious hatred, which leads to discrimination, hostility or violence. To go beyond this has implications for free speech.

Muslims, like anyone else, should be free to practise and propagate their faith. They are free also to contribute to public debate. The principle of one law for all, however, cannot be compromised. Freedom of expression and the right to change one's belief must be maintained. So must easy access to the courts and police.


The rest of the Article can be found HERE.

Stephen Hawking's new book critiqued by Alister McGrath

Stephen Hawking, the internationally respected scientist, has published a new book, The Grand Design, which famously (already!) declares, "Because there is a law such as gravity, the Universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the Universe exists, why we exist."


There is a substantial review and critique by English theologian Alister McGrath (whose first doctorate was in Molecular Biology). I have published some of this review at the GodTalkatUWS blog.

The original article can be found HERE.

The Wrong Way to Do Muslim Outreach: An Appeal to Dove Outreach Centre

Dear ministry team at Dove Outreach Centre,

I appeal to you as a fellow pastor and servant of the Lord Jesus Christ not to go ahead with this misguided exercise of burning the Quran.

I also recognise that any worldview or religion that does not accept Jesus as Lord or recognise the Holy Scriptures as the final authority in matters of faith is captive to the devil. However I believe it is incredibly unhelpful to outreach around the world to antagonise Muslims by burning their holy book.

I serve in a part of Sydney, Australia where there is some outreach to Muslims happening and numbers of Muslims becoming disciples of Christ. I want you to understand that your misguided public event is likely to cause greater antagonism between Muslims and Christians and slow the cause of the gospel among Muslims. I am also concerned for friends who are serving in Muslim-majority countries who will be placed in increased danger by your actions - and also for the damage that you will do to the cause of Christ in these lands as outreach work is attacked more vigorously.

I call on you to preach the salvation that is found in Christ alone and to model the peace and forgiveness that can only be found in him.

I will be praying that you repent of this ill-advised intention and that instead you offer your own prayers that we may all live 'peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good and pleases God our saviour, who wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth . . .' (1 Tim 2:2-4).

I appeal to you in Christ,

Richard Blight
Minister, Padstow Anglican Church,
Sydney, Australia

The contact page for Dove outreach centre (where I sent this appeal) is here. (You might like to add your own).

The SMH article is here: