Posted on 08/22/2005 10:18:12 PM PDT by naturalman1975
MUSLIM community leaders have united to denounce extremism, terrorism and the teaching of hatred at a summit in Canberra aimed at fighting the possible emergence of radical Islamists in Australia.
President of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils Ameer Ali said the meeting, convened by Prime Minister John Howard, was "constructive and fruitful" and that the Muslim community had an unreserved commitment to the safety of all Australians.
"We agreed to denounce extremism, terrorism and the teaching of hatred in this country," Dr Ali said.
"We believe in the Australian family, we are all members of the same family.
"There is no place for hatred, there is no place for terrorism, there is no place for violence in this country." Prime Minister John Howard said the summit was positive and forward-looking about tackling terrorism.
"There was unanimous rejection and repudiation of terrorism in all its forms and a commitment to work within the laws of Australia and the framework of the Australian community to combat terrorism," he said.
"There is a problem, there is a concern that a small section of the Islamic community of this country could be the source of terrorism."
The meeting has agreed on a set of principles which will guide ongoing talks between the government and Australia's Islamic community.
"I am releasing a statement of principles, which will provide the framework for ongoing dialogue and contact between the government and the Islamic community of Australia into the future," he said.
Before the meeting some of the Muslim leaders said Australia's military presence in Iraq was a prime cause of the possible alienation of young Muslims, with one leader saying the troop interventions could be seen as "a sort of betrayal". "Of course, there are differences of opinions," Dr Ali said.
"Some were supporting the policy, there were some people against the policy.
"We are entitled to our own opinions but we are not here to change the foreign policy of this country."
Mr Howard said Australia's commitment to the war in Iraq came up twice during the meeting.
"One man said he very strongly supported the government's position – very, very strongly – and one other person said that he did not necessarily agree with that," Mr Howard said.
"And I said: 'That mirrors the view of the Australian community'.
"That is part of the dialogue, that's part of the debate, that goes on in the Australian community but as Dr Ali said the meeting was not about defining our foreign policy.
"But it indicated to me that on that issue, the people who I had invited were reflective of the range of views in the Australian community – and isn't that good?"
Opposition leader Kim Beazley said today teaching respect for Australian values should be part of the curriculum in all schools, not just Islamic ones.
"Respecting the Australian values of tolerance, of mateship, of fair dealing with each other - this is critical," he said.
"We absolutely have to make sure that when we emerge from this summit ... we go down a path that produces the sort of community unity that we want.
Mr Beazley said funding for schools should also be conditional on ensuring students were not exposed to extremist material or teachings.
What Muslim leaders say and what they do are increasingly VERY, VERY divergent.
Well, history is replete with examples of people who died from self-condemnation (by committing seppuku or by other means). These leaders, however, seem to be all alive, which leads one to questioning their sincerity...
I would trust these islamic leaders (read thug murderers)
as far as I could throw their sorry butts.
Kill A Commie For Mommie
Seven Dead Monkeys Page O Tunes
They just hate the hate. Right!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.