Monday, March 08, 2010

Muslim demands

News today from Australia that a Muslim leader advocates that some aspects of Sharia law should be allowed in Australia.   He is not advocating the draconian stoning of women for adultery nor cutting off hands for theft.  Rather it is something to do with divorce allowing the husband to decide if the children can go with their mother and her new husband. From what I know, Australian courts decide such matters taking most account of the welfare of the children and that is how it should be.

He cites examples where traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander laws are recognised. That is a completely different case. They were here first and had their land invaded. Muslim people have chosen to come to Australia and need to realise they therefore chose to accept the laws of their new country. Australia has a long history of immigration and I have never heard of the Italians, Germans, Chinese, Indians, Jews or Buddhists asking for special laws.

I have just moved to New Zealand. The laws are almost the same as Australia but there are some differences. However I will need to adapt where necessary.   I do not expect New Zealand to change to suit me. If a country had laws which were difficult for me to accept, then I would not move there.

The Muslims wonder why they have troubles being accepted in their new country. These sort of demands indicate why.

4 comments:

motheramelia said...

Even when you are a guest of a country like I was for 8 years in Austria, you need to follow the laws of that country, so if you become a citizen, that goes double.

toujoursdan said...

The same discussion came up in Ontario a few years back. As I recall the proposal was for Sharia law for family, property and civil disputes only and if any of the parties didn't like the result, they could appeal the decision to the regular Ontario court system.

The greatest opposition came from liberal Muslim groups like the Muslim Canadian Congress and Muslim feminist organizations. They said the obvious: these laws discriminate against women. There would also be pressure from within the Muslim community to go this route instead of the regular court system. They also said that Islam spans 6 continents and dozens of cultures, so there is no one interpretation of how these laws should be applied.

The Premier shut down discussion and said that Sharia would not be implemented.

Doorman-Priest said...

The story is similar here of course.

Anonymous said...

Surely Jensenism would accept Sharia law within its boundaries. Children of divorced parents should be with their father. Women are subordinate and should do as they're told.