“Muslims Living Abroad Cannot… Impose Their Values…”
“When Foreigners Come to Islamic Countries… We Insist That They Respect Our Traditions”
“Something important happened recently in Australia that made us ask ourselves, Who are we and what is our attitude towards others? When foreigners come to Islamic countries to work, live, or visit, we insist that they respect our Islamic and Arab traditions. We also expect foreign workers in our countries to respect the customs of our religion, and sometimes we even go overboard and demand that their wives cover their heads with a veil, and demand that they not eat in public during the days of Ramadan, and refrain from eating pork, drinking wine, and the like… In all the Islamic countries, anyone accused of harming the sensibilities of the native residents is punished, deported, or imprisoned…”
True enough…but what’s different here is that this writer flips the coin, and in effect says that sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander:
“It is Imperative That Our Muslim Brothers Living Abroad Share the Values of Those who Prefer Secularism”
“This brings us back to Australia. Last week, Australia’s Conservative Prime Minister John Howard summoned to his office a large group of Muslim clerics from the Muslim community living in the continent, and presented them with an ultimatum. He said that Australia, which is fundamentally a land of immigrants, demands of everyone who resides in it… ‘full allegiance’ to the secular Australian constitution and not to any other law common in the countries whence the immigrants came….Just in case the words of the prime minister were not sufficiently clear, Treasurer Peter Costello added that the Muslim clerics must adhere to the secular laws, and that if they do not do so, they must leave Australia.
“The issue of ‘live and let live’ has turned into an existential issue [for Muslims living in non-Muslim countries]. In accordance with the current democratic values and with other values, the non-Muslim majority lives in systems based on separation of religion and state… Since it is not reasonable [to assume] that the situation will change… it is imperative that our Muslim brothers living abroad share the values of those who prefer secularism.
“Muslims living abroad cannot assume that they can impose their values – just as we do not permit Christians living among us to impose their values upon us…”
The remaining BIG question is whether the more…er…staunch members of “dar al Islam” are willing to listen to this, and other voices of reason, or whether the jihadistanis will continue to dominate.