The treatment of Dr Haneef has been deeply troubling for many Australians, of all political stripes. I don’t know if Haneef is guilty as charged (or guilty of more) but I hope he is, because if he is innocent then we have witnessed a high-tech public lynching.
What has equally surprised me has been the near universal silence of the plethora of Muslim organisations and their self-appointed leaders. Australian readers will recall that usually you cannot get these guys to shut up, they are willing to give an Islamic opinion on the opening of a tap. Some have offered “one on one” counselling to Australian models caught using drugs, others will show up to the opening of an envelope. They are the scourge of the public space.
Australia has more professional Muslim multiculturalists than an orgy at the tower of Babel but where the hell are they? This young man is in custody whilst the DPP figure out if they can charge him with having a beard, or eating curry; and our Professional Public Muslims are absent, silent, supine. The new Harry Potter novel was released yesterday so perhaps they are all reading that; or perhaps it’s “Chicken Surprise” night at Yasmin’s.
It’s not that these people eschew controversy, some are happy to heap calumny on Jews (”[the Jews use] sex and abominable acts of buggery, espionage, treason and economic hoarding to control the world”) or to defend the smirking of Lebanese gang rapists, or defend the “right” of Hizbollah to kidnap Israeli troops on the other side of the world. But on this matter they are unable or unwilling to say anything useful.
15 comments ↓
There has also been precious little commentary from the Oz libertarian sites. I would have thought this was a core issue for libertarians, or doesn’t it fit with right wing sentiments?
What nonsense, OP. You are turning this into exactly the ‘Poor Muslims v. teh evul west’ scenario that makes the muslim community in Oz so often a self-parody.
Your sole interest in this case is that the accused is a Muslim. Were there daily (and more) updates on Astrolabe about the Tamil terrorism-accused?
Seeing this as a communal issue leads to the sort of charming society that produces Shia-Suni massacres and Hindi-Muslim massacres.
I said a little on a Club Troppo thread, but I usually only post if I have an angle not being covered elsewhere. In this case, the MSM seem to have it right and there is not much more I could add.
The post above is the only blog comment I have seen that makes a point I have not seen in the MSM.
Antish, why on earth shouldn’t Austrolabe be motivated by the fact that the victem in this case is a muslim, this is a blog who’s self proclaimed goal is to serve the Australian muslim community!
Slim, and Andrew,
I think the Australian blogsphere has been a superb resource on this particular matter. Many Muslims have been moved by the reaction of the wider community.
I also agree that once a point has been well made, it does not need to be repeated ad nauseam across the blogsphere thus becoming a de-facto pledge (or not) of one’s humanity.
Its really the wider community that has really kept the executive’s feet to the flame, specifically the Australian, Julian Burnside QC and Peter Faris QC.
The reasons that Austrolabe has not discussed the Tamil issue are very simple
1. They are before the courts in a conventional fashion (without the interference of the executive as in the Haneef case).
2. The presiding judge (Bonjorno) has already give the AG a spray.
3. The Tamil community has done precisely what the Muslim community has not done and got behind the three men.
4. The Tamils have already admitted being part of the LTTE, which we do not support. If we did, I suspect that Antish, you would accuse us of being supporters of terrorism, and start howling at the moon and licking your testicles.
Antish , thus far we have indulged your views on this web-site, but clearly someone like you who believes that the world is missing the benefit of their profundity, should look at getting their own blog.
come on ant, don’t take that from him, he is calling you out.
come on, show him that you are half the man he thinks you are
Antish,
What is ‘Poor Muslims v. teh evul west’?
Antish, there are plenty of ‘Muslim issues’ we don’t address either. I don’t think we’ve written much about David Hicks, Mamdouh Habib, the Benbrika group arrested in Sydney and Melbourne, or Jack Thomas (to give some local examples). The reason we’re posting a lot of stuff on Haneef is because, unlike the others, there appears to be some serious issues with how his case has and is being handled.
Has it occured to anyone that some of these muslims organisations have chosen to remain silent in the interests of Dr Haneef? I know of two who have taken this stance. Can’t vouch for the PPM’s though.
Baybers I have noticed the same thing. The silence has been deafening. I can think of a few possible reasons for it.
Maybe it’s fear.
Maybe they just don’t have the skills to respond to this. It’s mainly been lawyers like Birnside and Faris who have been getting stuck into the government.
Maybe it’s because Haneef is Indian and I think most Muslims here are Arabs (?).
Maybe it’s because they think they will hurt Haneef by linking themselves to his case.
some australian muslims leaders are busy suing the govt for $750,000 http://www.abc.net.au/news/sto.....985172.htm
Tis a good point. why is this?
Slim - it’s not that we Oz libertarians are not appalled by what is happening, but more, speaking for myself anyway, that we feel we have little to add to this bizarrely unfolding story. The Australian seems to have more information than the police!
Thinking about the theory in #9. This is basically saying that Muslim leaders are so toxic that their public support for a man like Haneef would damage his image and case. That’s pretty bad and you have to wonder why they’ve ended up in that position.
The question of toxicity is another issue altogether. The point is muslim leaders are beginning to recognise this and adapt accordingly. Is it a case of too little too late? I prefer to hope not.
Peter Russo and Haneef’s relative will be speaking at a Hizb ut-Tahrir rally in Sydney on Sunday. Yay! Let’s see if we can guess what the headlines will be on Monday…
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