A letter by Asif Qazi published in the SMH on 22 Feb, 2011 reveals the attitude of many more recent migrants which angers citizens of Western countries.
He suggests: “Migrants live with whatever values they are comfortable” and “They should not be expected to follow or practice any lifestyle that is in conflict with their values and beliefs”.
WRONG. Where there is no material conflict between Australian laws and social customs and the behaviour ensuing from migrants’ values and beliefs, they can behave how they like. Where there is conflict, OUR laws and customs take precedence.
If their adult daughter wishes to live with her boyfriend prior to marriage, or not to marry at all, that is her right here. Most women wear bikinis on the beach in this country. If their daughter wishes to do the same, that is her legal right.
It does not matter that they are offended by criticism or even parody and satire of their religion. The freedom to criticize through all devices from academic discourse to polemic to satire and mockery is a core Australian value.
It is not acceptable for migrants to demand a special, segregated swimming area for “their” women at Australian beaches because of their religious or cultural values. It is totally unacceptable for aggressive, Muslim men to attempt to create a de facto one, particularly since the overwhelming majority of them don’t even live anywhere near the beach and do not pay rates to the local council. This behaviour should be met with vigorous opposition by local residents and the local police.
There are not and should never be special laws for community groups such as sharia for Muslims who do not agree with Australian court decisions. Alien cultural values are secondary in such cases.
It is precisely the support of such “we’ll live how we want” attitudes under laissez-faire interpretations of multiculturalism by the left that has led to the separatist agenda of many Muslims in Western Europe, now that they feel they have the numbers. Given European evidence, it is not unreasonable that Australians are suspicious of Muslim immigration.
The analogy with British migrants remaining connected to their heritage is absurd: modern Australia is founded on British culture. That foundation is overwhelmingly the reason why Australian society has its current structures.
The dominant culture of modern Australia is north western European and Protestant. Other cultures have enhanced Australian society by adding to this core, not creating copies of themselves as competing alternatives.
Protestant philosophy is about far more than religion and has been from its very beginning. At its heart are its tenets about the relationship between individuals and institutions. When John Wycliffe translated the bible into English, it was a political statement fundamentally about the right of individuals to read, discuss and hold a public opinion on not just matters of religion, but matters of government.
That a society founded as an outpost and penal colony only 220 years ago has developed into the free and prosperous modern Australia is testament to the strength of this philosophy.
One may compare the histories of Canada and Argentina as further evidence: two countries with large land area and abundant mineral and agricultural resources. Argentina was in fact colonized and began to be developed long before Canada. The overwhelming reason for the great disparity in current prosperity: Argentina’s history of Catholicism - its discrimination against prosperous, educated northern European migrants, its eschewing of scientific and technological education and development and its cultural acceptance of centralised authority, which helped prevent mass land ownership.
I suggest that common and deeply held beliefs regarding the relationship between individuals and between individuals and institutions and the consequent nexus between individual freedom and civic duty is the crux of “core Australian values”. It is what has made Australia a destination for so many migrants.
These “values” are learned from experience. You must integrate with Australian society to understand them. The more alien the culture from which our migrants come, the more imperative that this idea is impressed upon them.
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