Sydney Muslims demand PM to stop inciting hatred
- From: "Faris Jawad" <ana_faris_bila_jawad@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2005 10:02:47 -0400
Sydney Muslims demand PM to stop inciting hatred
9/25/2005 6:30:00 PM GMT
Muslims rallied in Sydney, demanding the federal government to cancel
proposed anti-terrorism laws, saying they would be a major infringement of
their rights.
Hundreds of members of the Muslim community gathered Sunday at Punchbowl, in
Sydney, protesting the federal government's actions they say are inciting
hatred towards Islam.
PM John Howard had failed his community by not doing enough to stop
anti-Muslim discourse, National president of Federation of Australian Muslim
Students and Youth (FAMSY), Chaaban Omran said.
Mr. Omran also denounced the Western media's negative portrayal of the
Islamic religion, saying it was feeding a growing prejudice.
He described the new anti-terror laws as the largest infringement on the
rights of Muslim Australians.
Mr. Howard announced earlier this month adopting a number of new security
measures that included tighter checks on citizenship applicants, jail terms
for inciting violence and police powers to detain suspects without charge
for up to a fortnight.
"Instead of coming out with practical steps to address terrorism, these laws
will just work to create more intolerance towards Muslims," Mr. Omran told
AAP.
"As Australians, we just want to be treated like everyone else, we don't
wish to have all these laws set out that will lead to us becoming targets."
"There is nowhere in the religion of Islam that condones the killings of
innocent civilians or non-combatants". "That needs to be accepted and made
clear by the (Howard) government and it must request that the media promote
that, rather than just saying every single terrorist is a Muslim and
therefore the religion itself causes terrorism.
"A simple comment like that from the government would help promote
tolerance."
Sunday's gathering is also aimed at sending a wider message to all
Australians. Mr. Omran said: "We all moved out to this country because we
thought we would be able to carry out our traditions and our cultures, as
well as making a good contribution to Australia's society.
"Now we're starting to find this is no longer the case and that is a tragic
thing in a country that purports to value diversity," he said.
Source: AAP
http://islamonline.com/cgi-bin/news_service/world_full_story.asp?service_id=1775
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