Australian media blamed for Islam bias

[dark_knight]

Media blamed for Islam bias

Jeremy Roberts

October 27, 2006

AUSTRALIAN Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty believes the media is fuelling a growing bias against Islamic Australians, warning that increased vilification of Muslims is fomenting home-grown terrorism.



In a speech delivered in Adelaide, Mr Keelty played down Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali's inflammatory comments on women, asserting that "many in the community also say offensive things and many of them are white Caucasian Australians". He said rising vilification of Muslims was being fuelled by irresponsible media outlets which sensationalised terrorism-related stories with little basis in fact. And he called on Australians to teach the values of democracy and multiculturalism to the younger generation so that "our future is not worse than our past".

Mr Keelty - who clashed with Foreign Minister Alexander Downer in 2004 after the commissioner blamed the suicide attacks on Madrid train system on the war in Iraq - said he met privately with Muslim groups in Adelaide yesterday.

"You hear more and more stories of treatment of the Islamic community that really is substandard by members of our own wider community," he said at a lunch hosted by the South Australian Press Club. "It is vilification, picking them out of the crowd because they dress differently or they speak differently.

"If we are not careful we risk raising a generation of Australians who will have a bias against Islam."

He said to avoid terrorism, the country must not marginalise people. "We don't want to provide them with more reasons to be further marginalised or disenfranchised to the point where they will take their own life in order to kill many others."

Mr Keelty's comments differ in emphasis to John Howard's singling out in September of a minority of Australian Muslims. He said a "small section of the Islamic population (was) very resistant to integration".

A spokesman for Mr Howard said the Prime Minister would not comment on Mr Keelty's speech.

But Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration Andrew Robb said it was the terrorists who were to blame for increased "anxiety in the community".

And he said the onus was on Muslims to put the rest of the community at ease. "The actions and the statements of the terrorists is leading to stigmatisation of Muslims in Australia," Mr Robb said. "To minimise the anxiety in the community Australian Muslims have to accept they face a problem with Islamic terrorism - a problem which is not of their making but a problem nonetheless.

"But they are best placed to do something about it, by denouncing it and by asserting their Australian-ness and being confident in all of that."

Mr Robb has proposed a tougher test for people seeking citizenship, including an English test and knowledge of some elements of Australian history and society. Speaking about "partnerships" with different communities, Mr Keelty appeared to take exception to yesterday's front page report in The Australian on Sheik Hilali. "The other partnership which is important - and if you have seen The Australian newspaper today you would understand why - is with the Islamic community," he said.

Later saying the story was "balanced" by female Muslim input, he said Muslim vilification was fuelled by a sensationalist media. But he said the solution to the risk of bias against Muslims was a return to "teaching the values to the future generations that we were brought up with".

"One of our great strengths as a community is that we do have a very open democratic system in this country ... one of the strengths of this country is multiculturalism."

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...8-2702,00.html

[Ali Abdullah]

The Australian newspaper, and most of the Aussie press, is in fact owned by Rupert Murdoch!

[dark_knight]

that explains alot then

[waqar]

Well Australia is not very different from Britain they are both anti Muslim in their foreign policy and its no surprise in there domestic affairs they try to deflect their foreign policy disasters onto the Muslim populations in their countries.

Australia believes it is the superpower of the south east Asia even though this area is thousands of miles away from Australia an indication that Australia is a colonial power wannabe and it tries to intimidate the likes of Indonesia and Malaysia. And with colonial attitudes what else do you expect, this is the same nation that wiped out its own indigenous Aborigine population.

[Salaam]

Very good post once again Dark Knight - thanks!

It's very disturbing how within a space of few months islamophobia is spreading to every corner of the "developed" world... What can we do? Are we just sleep walking into what has been described in the Qur'an and hadith books? The mass persecution and all that??

[nishath_786]

1) Australia is a racist country
2) Their media is very anti-Muslim
3) media is owned by Murdoch - very anti-Muslim
4) Their 'shock-jocks' were recently found by an inquiry to have instigated the race riots in Cronulla last year.

Remember that this is a country which decimated the native population and keeps asylum-seekers in concentration camps and/or islands, literally covered in manure.

[Theodore]

The Sheiks comments were similar to the Popes, however notice the lack of rioting, death threats, and outrage?

Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali's is a prat. If people are biased already then they will take his comments to be representative of all Muslims, if people are not biased then they will understand that he is just one idiot just like there are idiots in the Church.

[SiiR]

Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali's is a prat.

Theodore, show some respect.

[TRUREL]

And with colonial attitudes what else do you expect, this is the same nation that wiped out its own indigenous Aborigine population.

I think you will find they are still there.

Aborigine populations round the world have not fared very well. Check out the Orang Asli in Malaysia for instance (and their rights to bumi funds).

Sure the country is right wing, but plenty of flok over there don't experience much in the way of racism you know, like my brother (else why would anyone move there).

Though he gets a lot of stick for being a pommie when the ashes roll around it has to be said.

[BrotherNur]

The Sheiks comments were similar to the Popes, however notice the lack of rioting, death threats, and outrage?

Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali's is a prat. If people are biased already then they will take his comments to be representative of all Muslims, if people are not biased then they will understand that he is just one idiot just like there are idiots in the Church.

The Sheihks comments was completly different to the popes,

Outrage has been immense, unless ur too blind to notice, if the PM Howard got involved, death threats are most likely to be on the way, followed, by muslims being beaten u, attacked, mosques being firebombed etc

[Theodore]

Theodore, show some respect.

But he is! If a right-wing Christian Bishop said that "Muslims are 90% to blame for attacks on Muslims because they provoke people with their different beliefs" and I called him a prat you would not be thinking about respect! He is a prat.

[Theodore]

The Sheihks comments was completly different to the popes,

Outrage has been immense, unless ur too blind to notice, if the PM Howard got involved, death threats are most likely to be on the way, followed, by muslims being beaten u, attacked, mosques being firebombed etc

Immense? Its pretty much restricted to Austrailia! There have been not protests!!!

[BrotherNur]

Immense? Its pretty much restricted to Austrailia! There have been not protests!!!

not really, yuned into sky news yesterday and they had it all over, but yes mostly australia, mainly because its not a big deal, where did i say there have been protests?

[big al]

Well Australia is not very different from Britain they are both anti Muslim in their foreign policy and its no surprise in there domestic affairs they try to deflect their foreign policy disasters onto the Muslim populations in their countries.

Australia believes it is the superpower of the south east Asia even though this area is thousands of miles away from Australia an indication that Australia is a colonial power wannabe and it tries to intimidate the likes of Indonesia and Malaysia. And with colonial attitudes what else do you expect, this is the same nation that wiped out its own indigenous Aborigine population.

Australia threatened to wipe out entire countries in SE Asia in August 2003.
It went as far as saying it would force AS Asia to adopt its currency, take thousands of Asians to work as free slaves, when finished those Asians would be murdered. Then it said it would go even further and attack India & Pakistan, both countries warned that POM scum if it did, the multiple nuclear strikes would take place in retaliation – it like a coward it really publicly apologised. Bush called australia the "sheriff of Asia".

[Theodore]

not really, yuned into sky news yesterday and they had it all over, but yes mostly australia, mainly because its not a big deal, where did i say there have been protests?

Im comparing it to the Pope and in order to even come close to the Pope (who incidentally was giving a private speech at a university not a public Pope-style address thing) there needs to be arson attacks on Mosques with graffiti about this guy (as there were similar attacks on Churches), protests, riots and a few death threats and possibly a kidnapping where the demands are that the guy makes an apology. Then some Christian countries need to demand that Australia deals with this by curbing freedom of speech.

[SiiR]

But he is! If a right-wing Christian Bishop said that "Muslims are 90% to blame for attacks on Muslims because they provoke people with their different beliefs" and I called him a prat you would not be thinking about respect! He is a prat.

Really? Do you really think i won't be thinking of Respect?

As for shaykh taj being a 'prat', this man has kept alot of Muslims at bay while the attacks have been on FullSwing towards Muslims in Australia.

He could have done what alot of SHaykhs in England are doing, he could have given Hate-Filled sermons etc, but he didn't, he did his best to keep the Muslims of Australia @ a peaceful point.

He does too much for the Australian Muslim Community.

He does alot for Australia as a whole, and alot of them don't even realise it. Ungrateful. Tsk tsk.

So yes, like i said, Respect.

And come on, lets go back to COMMON SENSE here.

FORGET about the way he has said things, yes, he did use a bad example. So what? Look at the message he was trying to give out.

He isn't perfect The pope is "Your holiness", this man is simply a brother named Taj.

[BrotherNur]

Im comparing it to the Pope and in order to even come close to the Pope (who incidentally was giving a private speech at a university not a public Pope-style address thing) there needs to be arson attacks on Mosques with graffiti about this guy (as there were similar attacks on Churches), protests, riots and a few death threats and possibly a kidnapping where the demands are that the guy makes an apology. Then some Christian countries need to demand that Australia deals with this by curbing freedom of speech.

where are all these death threats, graffiri,kidnappings, riots etc?

or are you wrirting stuff along the way like you usally do,

the pope comments is completly different to the sheihks, the pope insulted a religion a whole nation, with his hate filled message, yes he hate filled, he is know for his anti islam stance

the sheihk made a comment on a certain dress style and its effect,

BIG difference

[Muslimlarki]

1) Australia is a racist country
2) Their media is very anti-Muslim
3) media is owned by Murdoch - very anti-Muslim
4) Their 'shock-jocks' were recently found by an inquiry to have instigated the race riots in Cronulla last year.

Remember that this is a country which decimated the native population and keeps asylum-seekers in concentration camps and/or islands, literally covered in manure.

What do you expect from the ancestors of criminals. Nice behaviour.

[big al]

where are all these death threats, graffiri,kidnappings, riots etc?

or are you wrirting stuff along the way like you usally do,

the pope comments is completly different to the sheihks, the pope insulted a religion a whole nation, with his hate filled message, yes he hate filled, he is know for his anti islam stance

the sheihk made a comment on a certain dress style and its effect,

BIG difference

He does not like being challenged; it’s BS Bore as always. Have you ever thought he could be a tabloid "journalist"?