If Abbot will implement new policies on terrorism muslim leaders call for uprise: Muslim leaders across Australia have denounced as unjust, unjustified and hypocritical proposed new counter-terrorism laws and they have refused to rubber-stamp them for the government. Not only that, they have called for an uprising against them. In a statement, more than 60 individuals and organisations, including 10 sheikhs, said that the threat from the ostensible target of the laws, about 150 radicalised Muslims returning from Iraq or Syria, had been trumped up. There is no solid evidence to substantiate this threat. Rather, racist caricatures of Muslims as backwards, prone to violence and inherently problematic are being exploited, the statement said. It is instructive that similar issues about Australian troops travelling abroad to fight or Jews travelling to train or fight with the Israeli Defence Force are simply never raised. The Muslim leaders also pointed out the official terrorism threat level has remained the same since 2001. The statement was released just two days after Prime Minister Tony Abbott set about selling the sweeping changes and met with Muslim community representatives in Sydney. At the time, he said his message to Islamic leaders was that everyone should be on Team Australia. Australian Muslim Womens Association head Silma Ihram attended the meeting with 20 or so others, but said that invitees were only told about the Monday morning consultation the preceding Friday evening. There was no agenda for the one-hour meeting and those invited were not given access to any draft legislation, she said. We dont even know what were speaking about, she said. A productive consultation has an agenda. There was no agenda. Ihram is a signatory to the statement from Muslim leaders, which vows not to rubber-stamp the laws. The Muslim community is being asked to sign off on laws and policies that have already been decided, it reads. Prime Minister Tony Abbott is merely seeking approval under the cover of consultation. The governments plans reportedly include softening the definition of terrorism, retaining internet and phone data, making it easier to detain and question suspects returning from overseas and reversing the onus of proof for people coming home from terrorism hot-spots.
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 11:39:26 +0000