Free Republic

Five Australian Muslims have been received prison sentences of up to 28 years after being found guilty of conspiring to wage a violent jihad. The men were plotting the terror attacks to protest against the country's involvement in the Afghan and Iraq wars. A court in Sydney convicted the men of conspiracy to commit an act of terror in October 2009 after a trial lasting 10 months - the longest in Australian legal history. The jury took four weeks to consider their verdicts. Justice Anthony Whealy of the New South Wales Supreme Court handed down the sentences, saying the men...

Music fans at the Big Day Out concert in Sydney today appeared to be ignoring pleas by organisers to leave Australian flags at home. Big Day Out promoter Ken West caused a storm earlier this week when he asked fans not to take flags to today's concert at Sydney Showground. Mr West said he wanted to avoid a repeat of last year's concert, when he said some fans used the flag as "gang colours" or for racist taunting in the wake of the Cronulla riots. However, political leaders rejected his appeal, and today many fans on their way to the...

The Egyptian-born Australian Mufti, Taj al-Hilali, was totally correct in asserting that Muslim immigrants in Australia have greater rights than their white counterparts, who are descendents of criminals. Of course, in the light of Islam. Hard to believe? Find it out & you won't!

CONTROVERSIAL mufti Sheik Taj al-Din al-Hilali was today urged to "keep his mouth shut" as Muslim groups distanced themselves from his latest shocking comments. NSW Community Relations Commission (CRC) chairman Stepan Kerkyasharian branded the mufti's outburst outrageous, though Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said nobody took the sheik seriously any more. Sheik Hilali said in an interview on Egyptian television that Australian Muslims were more entitled to be in the country than those with a convict heritage He attacked Western values and said: "The Western people are the biggest liars and oppressors and especially the English race." Kuranda Seyit, executive director...

Australia's first Muslim life savers are due to qualify this week as part of a drive to represent more accurately the country's multi-cultural mix. The bronzed, blond life saver has been the embodiment of beach culture for a century and ranks alongside the bushranger and jackaroo as a quintessential Australian icon. [...] The campaign to recruit Australians of Middle Eastern heritage has been funded by a A$600,000 (£242,000) grant from the federal government. It is an attempt torebuild community relations after the Cronulla riots of December 2005, when gangs of white and Middle Eastern youths clashed, smashing car windows and...