I’m sure “moderate” Muslims will appreciate Colin Rubenstein’s brief lesson in The Age today on what “moderate” Muslims should do to moderate their views in order to convince him they are “moderate” enough for his liking.
It seems part of Colin’s strategy is for “moderate” Muslims to only reject Muslim-haters when his organisation isn’t sponsoring one of their speaking tours. Otherwise, “moderate” Muslims should embrace them.
At the beginning of his article, Colin makes it very clear what his position is ...
Characterising Muslim communities as a threat or danger per se is a sentiment we reject and with which we do not wish to be associated.
Colin mentions Daniel Pipes as an example. Pipes is apparently a scholar with only moderately critical views of Muslims. Colin proves this by reminding us that Pipes doesn't support the internment of all American Muslims. He only wants to intern those who are not "anti-Islamist".
So any Muslim who isn't openly anti-Islamist will be interned. So if you are someone who ticks the "Muslim" box on your census form and really couldn't give two hoots about some wacky Islamist group, you should be interned without delay.
Colin, do you believe that?
Of course, Pipes isn't as harmless as Colin makes him out to be (??). For instance, Pipes published an article in newspapers across the globe suggesting that a better way for Western countries to respond to their citizens being kidnapped by Iraqi dissidents is to lynch their Muslim minorities.
Gee, thanks, Danny-boy! I should let Danny Nalliah’s congregation know about that suggestion so the can include it in their next prayer.
Somehow I doubt even Colin would agree with Pipes that Australians burning mosques and shouted “We want revenge,” “Punish the Muslims” and “Down with Islam” would have been the best way to seek Douglas Wood’s release.
And it seems Waleed Aly and I are not alone in finding Pipes somewhat extreme. Unless, of course, the Council of American-Islamic Relations has set up an office in Israel. Even Israelis, regard Pipes as an extremist fruitloop hell-bent on Israel exterminating as many Palestinians as possible. Still, it’s easy to pontificate on Israeli military policy from the safety of Philadelphia.
Colin might also look at some one contributor to AIJAC’s own publication, who apparently exposed alleged extremists spreading hatred in Australian Muslim student bodies.
That same author takes a leaf out of Professor Raphael Israeli’s book, writing the following diatribe on a neo-Con website:
Everywhere in the world, Muslims are in conflict with their neighbours. And as Mark Steyn recently said, every conflict appears to have originated by someone with the name of Mohammed …
Despite … witnessing massive influxes of Islamic crime, Western countries continue to believe in the reality of assimilation and moral relativism.
In Australia, Lebanese Christians have assimilated and become a respected part of our community … However, Lebanese Muslims have encountered serious problems because of their refusal to accept our right to live our way of life. Nothing so clearly demonstrates that it is not an issue of race — but of culture.
Pauline Hanson couldn’t have put it better. This is a classic example of holding an entire faith-community of some 300,000 people from over 60 different ethnic groups responsible for the actions of 10 or so convicted criminals.
I don’t know about you, Colin, but I don’t regard insisting on group-responsibility against the followers of any Semitic faith as the sure sign of a moderate.
© Irfan Yusuf 2006
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