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| Down Under |
| 'Reclaim Australia' Rallies Against Sharia Law, Halal 'Tax' |
| 2015-04-26 |
| “Reclaim Australia” rallies were held in 16 different locations across Australia Saturday. Billed as a call for “patriotic Australians” to “stand together to stop tax, Sharia law and Islamization,”. the rallies provoked violent encounters with counter protesters who billed the events as racist and anti-Muslim. Reclaim Australia, a community organization, denied the accusations. "We're not against any particular race or any particular religion," John Oliver, an activist with the organization, said. "We're against the extremists of one particular religion. I know in Sydney and Melbourne they've got Muslims already signed on to attend because they can see what's happening and they don't like what's happening." Most Reclaim Australia protesters interviewed seemed to agree that the group was opposed to Islamic extremism and not Muslims who follow Australian law and whose intentions were not to change Australian culture. Typical at the rallies were the sentiments of protester John Bolton who told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, "What I'm not against is ordinary Australian people who happen to be Muslims who follow their faith, they don't need anybody's permission, provided they comply with the Australian civil and criminal law and want to comply with our constitution." "Most here are happy to have immigrants who want to come and fit in," Reclaim Australia protester Rhonda Cashmore said. "We're protesting against immigrants who don't want to follow our laws." Reclaim Australia spokeswoman Catherine Brennan concurred. "We are pro-Australian values and anti-extreme Islam, but we're not anti-Muslim," she stated. “Since when is it being racist to love your country and to love the values and culture that you've been brought up with?" Australia has been hit with a spate of Islamic extremist crime. Last September, Australian police embarked on a major counter-terrorism operation in response to intelligence reports that the Islamic State was planning an imminent attack. In the largest terror raid in Australia’s history, close to 800 federal and state police officers were dispatched to more than 12 locations across Sydney, with more raids coordinated in Brisbane and Logan as well. Australia contributes the highest number of foreign fighters per capita to the ranks of the Islamic State. A number of Australian citizens have made the news for joining the Islamic State as well as the vast majority of the estimated 200 fighters who remain anonymous. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #6 Fun things to do. Just pass a law that forbids Islam on the grounds it is a criminal conspiracy, it supports treasonous behavior, it banishes sharia law, it is a clear and present danger, it undermines the fabric of society, and it is subversive. Watch the turbans spin and seething begin. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2015-04-26 15:35 |
| #5 the thing I know its the western born muslims that want to go out to Syria/Iraq to fight. they have a romantic view of the Islamic world/caliphate. they don't realise the poverty side till they land there. the elders know better not to return home. |
| Posted by: paul 2015-04-26 14:58 |
| #4 An islamic scam that also resides in the US. |
| Posted by: newc 2015-04-26 14:21 |
| #3 ps: hello Trailing Wife, loveliness indeed, I just read back to your question vis Kashrut and Kosher marks being taken off food due to Halal Cert push back. People here are not angry at Kosher certification, because that isn't used as a blatant revenue stream. People here understand that it is an honest religious symbol designed only to tell jews that the product is Kosher. For example: I've heard of no instances where something is Kosher without a big symbol on it. Halal Certification is different - they are taking money from everyone. Including Sanitarium cornflakes - Sanitarium is owned by some other religion! But it certifies Halal and pays money to build mosques and spread Islam!!! It's outrageous to expect us to pay for this on groceries. What consumers here want - and it's totally reasonable - is for religious organisations to fund their own certification so non-religious consumers are not subsidising them. That and label the product clearly so people can have a choice. This won't affect Kashrut or Kosher certifiers to the same degree that it will affect Halal Certifiers for the simple reason that Kosher certifiers are honest and Halal Certifiers are using it as a revenue raising exercise. Crush them! |
| Posted by: anon1 2015-04-26 11:35 |
| #2 nice to see reasonable coverage if a bit late. The protests were back on april 4 In the weeks since then there has been no fair coverage in the australian media. Australian news, radio, television and internet coverage all painted the counter-rallies as "anti-racist" even though they were not. The Reclaim Australia rallies were about opposing Sharia and Halal Certification on food. Islamists have pressured large food companies into paying huge sums to certify their products "halal" under threat of Muslim boycott. The money goes to organisations like Muslims Australia, which certifies Vegemite, and is the umbrella organisation for the Islamic Councils of each state. This group uses the money raised from halal certification to build mosques and spread Islam in Australia. It raised more than $600,000 in halal certification fees in 2012 and is just one of 21 certification organisations. Non-Muslim Australians are VERY ANGRY they have to subsidise this on their groceries. It's on meat. It's on vegemite. It's on bread. Flour. Butter. Cream. Shampoo. Delivery trucks must have it. McDonalds, Red Rooster, KFC all buy meet from halal certified abattoirs. That was what this rally was about. |
| Posted by: anon1 2015-04-26 11:11 |
| #1 I thought a lot of Muslims left their Muslim homelands for the West because they were not fond of the extremist Muslim rule there and wanted the opportunity and freedom available in, e.g., Australia. Sounds like finally at least a few of them may be recognizing that what they left is following them, and they need to speak up a bit. Maybe? |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2015-04-26 09:36 |