its started: calls for the Muslim Law in Australia

I wondered when it would be that the calls to adopt Muslim law in Australia would start. Seems to be underway, with a strangely misrepresentitive claim by the Australian that this somehow has "broad community support". When indeed there is only:

...broad Muslim community support for aspects of Sharia law being adopted in Australia, a leading spokesman for the religion says.

So the lies an mis-interpretations have started already in what will shape up to be a political war. The article suggests that:

There are about 340,000 Muslims in Australia, or 1.7 per cent of the population, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show.

... not looking real broad to me.

The article argues the points from a subtle direction, suggesting that its really all only about family law:

"At the moment it can disadvantage Muslims here, particularly women, because if a woman gets divorced through the normal civil process that divorce is not recognised in Muslim countries," Mr Trad said.

"So they would still be considered to be married elsewhere."

Equally, Australian governments don't recognise divorce documents made by imams, the mosque and community leaders, Mr Trad said.

"These are all considerations that Muslims living in Australia face all the time and a lot of them support introducing these parts of Sharia law here," he added.

Right ... codswallop ... I'm a Catholic and my marriage in Finland is not recognised by the Catholic Church. So what?


You know, after struggling to get ourselves free in state affairs from one church, and solving problems within our christian community in the late middle ages (such as the Thirty Years War and the ability to learn how to apply diplomatic principles in making peace), do we want to start absorbing control from another?

I know I don't think so ... If we look at the Muslim world right now, it seems clear that the many fights and wars that exist within them (Shia vs Sunni) are quite similar in conceptual base as the wars which tore at the heart of Europe for centuries. I really don't want to see that brought to my home (thanks all the same).

The last thing I can imagine we want would be to return to that history.

The tolerance we have in Australia seems to make it easy for any religion to enter and assert itself. Personally I would argue that all religions are of interest and exhibit worthwhile philosophies to guide the human spirit.

This is however not law, and should never be. The article above proposes "two laws" in our country ... don't we have enough problems with just one?

My own experience is that if you have two, then you need more. Surely if we justify a second law set for Muslims that the Indigenous population would have the right to theirs ... then the Jewish population, then the ....

We have a constitution and an outlook which preaches religious tolerance. I'm certain that this pre-supposes that the religions were christian (as I'm certain that this would have been the mind set of the people at the time of making of our Constitution). It is the nature of Law that laws are written in words in a time, and then subject to re-interpretation over decades even amid the changes of social context and interpretations of those same words.

For instance the word Terrific. This once derived from the word TERROR (which is itself being morphed to day), however modern interpretations include:

ter·rif·ic

–adjective

1.- extraordinarily great or intense: terrific speed.

2.- extremely good; wonderful: a terrific vacation.

3.- causing terror; terrifying.

note how different point 2 is from the others?

Taking an original interpretation of things, I think it would be terrific if Australia adopted Muslim laws. I think we need to look carefully at the past and wonder if we want to repeat the mistakes back there?