By Daphne Anson
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| Image credit: CultureWatch; see article HERE |
The issue of whether same sex marriage should be legalised in Australia is a hot issue in Australia at the moment, with the ABC (which habitually guns for the Catholic Church) making little secret via subtle and not-so-subtle propaganda of where its sympathies lie.
The Bible isn’t meant to be taken literally, one of the other propaganda items scolds, reminding us of patriarchal attitudes and the practice of polygamy in the time of the Hebrew prophets (but strangely silent about the literal interpretation of … (yes, you’ve guessed it!) and the patriarchal attitudes and practice of polygamy in … (yes, you’ve guessed it again!)
“With few exceptions, including a statement from the National Imams Council, almost all of the talk of religious freedom and opposition to the bill on the grounds of faith has come from Christian leaders, particularly from the Anglican and Catholic Churches,”
the BBC’s Aussie counterpart told us last week.
“But now one Muslim leader has offered an explanation.” [Emphasis added, here and below.]
Watch the respectful silence and the sombre nods of the panellists on the ABC’s program “The Drum” last week as that Muslim leader, Ali Kadri, spokesman for the Islamic Council of Queensland and the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, offers that explanation:
“Unfortunately, in the current climate, the right and conservative side has attacked Muslims as terrorists and extremists, and naturally the left side has been allies in defending us for a long period of time.
We are afraid if we come out with our opinion then the left may abandon us for going against their view and we can’t be friendly with the conservatives because they have been bashing us for 15, 20 years every chance they get … and that includes some Christian sects as well…
A lot of [the]Muslim community are concerned that religious rights will be trampled in Islamic schools [and that they] will have to follow a national curriculum that will teach things that go against the fundamentals of their religion, so they are concerned about it…
The Muslim community is not speaking because the climate which is created in this country, we are not allowed to speak. We speak up and are called a terrorist, unpatriotic and all those slurs.
So we are missing out on having our say in this debate and that’s the wrong thing.”
Contrast the respect accorded the conservative Islamic viewpoint with the derision and hectoring the ABC regularly metes out to conservative Christians who cannot in all conscience vote the way the ABC wants. Here’s one of the latest examples, poking fun at, inter alia, Australian Christian Lobby head Lyle Shelton.
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