The religion of Islam must reform
Tony Abbott
The Daily Telegraph
December 9 2015
"It’s not culturally insensitive to demand loyalty to Australia and respect for Western civilisation. Cultures are not all equal. We should be ready to proclaim the clear superiority of our culture to one that justifies killing people in the name of God."
AROUND the world, terrorists screaming out Allah-u-Akbar are killing decent people going about their daily lives.
So far, three innocent people have died in terrorist incidents in Australia: Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson in the Martin Place siege a year ago and Curtis Cheng outside Parramatta police station in October.
So far our police and security services have responded with great professionalism to the terrorist threat and our people have taken this new challenge in their stride.
At every level, though, our response needs to escalate as the danger intensifies.
In the past few weeks there’s been the bombing of a Russian airliner over Sinai killing 224 people, the multiple attacks in Paris killing 130, bombings in the Middle East killing 75, the massacre of 14 people in California (it now seems) and a four-day lockdown of Brussels.
Dealing with terrorism and the Islamist fanaticism that inspires it is the great challenge of our time. Obviously there needs to be a very strong security response at home and abroad.
We need to be able to deal with terrorists and would-be terrorists here in Australia and to destroy the so-called Islamic State caliphate in Syria and Iraq that’s inspiring them. My government boosted funding to police and security agencies, passed four sets of legislation with more power to arrest and detain terror suspects, and committed to stripping terrorists who are dual nationals of their citizenship.
Australian jets are bombing terrorist targets in the Middle East and our soldiers are advising and training the Iraqi army.
At best this is containing the death cult — but not destroying it. That’s why the US is now sending special operations troops into the Middle East to fight rather than just to advise and train.
President Obama is now showing the will to win that’s needed for a safer world and he needs our support.
PM Turnbull is talking to our allies about what else we might do. This could include more RAAF support for the air campaign and allowing our soldiers to broaden their mission to help local forces.
The security response is necessary but it’s not sufficient. There also needs to be a concerted “hearts and minds” campaign against the versions of Islam that make excuses for terrorists.
Although most Muslims utterly reject terrorism, some are all too ready to justify “death to the infidel”.
Surveys of British and French Muslims typically show up to 30 per cent sympathising with the aims if not the methods of Islamic State.
Demonising Islam generally or all Muslims could bring on the “clash of civilisations” that academic Samuel Huntington feared two decades back and make “Islam’s bloody borders” even more dangerous. But we can’t remain in denial about the massive problem within Islam.
Islam never had its own version of the Reformation and the Enlightenment or a consequent acceptance of pluralism and the separation of church and state.
Fortunately there are numerous Muslim leaders who think their faith needs to modernise from the kill-or-be-killed milieu of the Prophet Mohammed.
A year ago, President el-Sisi of Egypt told the imams of the Al-Azhar University in Cairo that Islam needed nothing less than a “religious revolution” to correct centuries of false ideas that were making Islam a menace to the wider world.
When Islamic State first swept into Iraq, Prime Minister Najib of Malaysia said that it was “against God, against Islam and against our common humanity”.
After one of his worshippers murdered a police employee, the chairman of the Parramatta mosque declared that “if you don’t like Australia, leave”.
Islam needs to delegitimise the urge to “behead all those who insult the Prophet” but only Muslims can do this. That’s why everyone interested in a safer world should be reaching out to “live and let live” Muslims and encouraging them to reclaim their faith from the zealots.
In Australia that means talking to decent people who happen to be Muslim as well as to “official” Muslims inclined to see “Islamophobia” in any criticism.
Saturday’s Daily Telegraph reported local Muslim leaders blaming Islamic State on Western foreign policy but this self-excusing rubbish ignores the fact that the death cult’s victims have mostly been Muslims who think differently.
THEIR ABC Still pondering just how children could be induced into Islamic Terrorism... after all Islam means Peace doesn't it?
It’s also time Australians stopped being apologetic about the values that have made our country as free, fair and prosperous as any on Earth.
Where hate preaching is not illegal it should at least be thoroughly answered point-by-point with a very robust defence of human rights and responsibilities.
It’s not culturally insensitive to demand loyalty to Australia and respect for Western civilisation. Cultures are not all equal. We should be ready to proclaim the clear superiority of our culture to one that justifies killing people in the name of God.
Abbott refuses to kneel whilst Turnbull calls for "Political solution" for Islamic Sociopath's Inc.problem.
Tony Abbott says Islam must change, and we shouldn’t apologise for our Western values
EXCLUSIVE Simon Benson
National Political Editor
The Daily Telegraph
December 9 2015
TONY Abbott has called for a religious revolution within Islam as he urges Australians to stop apologising for their Western values and culture.
Writing exclusively for The Daily Telegraph today — a week before the anniversary of the Sydney Lindt Cafe siege — the former prime minister warns of a “clash of civilisations” unless Islam undergoes a global reform.
In an article likely to invite controversy, Mr Abbott says Australia and the West can no longer live in denial about the “problem within Islam”, and that while most Muslims rejected terrorism, some were “all too ready to justify ‘death to the infidel’.”
“Islam needs to delegitimise the urge to ‘behead all those who insult the Prophet’ but only Muslims can do this,” Mr Abbott writes.
“Demonising Islam generally or all Muslims could bring on the ‘clash of civilisations’ that academic Samuel Huntington feared two decades back and make ‘Islam’s bloody borders’ even more dangerous.
“But we can’t remain in denial about the massive problem within Islam.
Mr Abbott’s comments will be seen as reinforcing a growing number of Coalition MPs who have broken ranks with Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull and called on Muslim leaders to do more to counter violent extremism.
“Everyone interested in a safer world should reach out to ‘live and let live’ Muslims and encourage them to reclaim their faith from
the zealots,” Mr Abbott writes.
“In Australia, that means talking to decent people who happen to be Muslim as well as to ‘official’ Muslims inclined to see ‘Islamophobia’ in any criticism.
“Surveys of British and French Muslims typically show up to 30 per cent sympathising with the aims if not the methods of Islamic State.
“Fortunately, there are numerous Muslim leaders who think their faith needs to modernise from the kill-or-be-killed milieu of the Prophet Mohammed.”
Praising US President Barack Obama for stepping up the military campaign against IS, Mr Abbott says it won’t be enough on its own.
“There also needs to be a concerted ‘hearts and minds’ campaign against the versions of Islam that make excuses for terrorists,” he writes.
Mr Abbott also warns of a cultural cringe preventing an honest debate about the issue and calls on Australians to proclaim the secular values on which the nation was built.
“It’s also time Australians stopped being apologetic about the values that have made our country as free, fair and prosperous as any on Earth,” Mr Abbott writes.
“It’s not culturally insensitive to demand loyalty to Australia ... we should be ready to proclaim the clear superiority of our culture to one that justifies killing people in the name of God.”
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