Bendigo mosque construction begins

[brian ross]

More this ... "fashion accessory" ...

For many, younger Muslim women, I'd say yes. I know a very nice, small Cafe' which is owned by an Algerian man. He has various young Muslim women working for him. They all wear hijabs in imaginative ways. All are bright and intelligent and are going places (as most are Uni students).

[Neferti]

The first mosque in Australia was built in 1861 at Marree, South Australia. The Great Mosque of Adelaide was built in 1888 by the descendants of the Afghan cameleers.

The immigrants who came here after WW2 to make a better life, did NOT wear "scarves".

The current Muslims are absolutely NOTHING like their ancestors who were good people.
Suddenly we have a problem with "religion".

[brian ross]

The first mosque in Australia was built in 1861 at Marree, South Australia. The Great Mosque of Adelaide was built in 1888 by the descendants of the Afghan cameleers.

The immigrants who came here after WW2 to make a better life, did NOT wear "scarves".

The current Muslims are absolutely NOTHING like their ancestors who were good people.
Suddenly we have a problem with "religion".

Again, you ascribe to the majority of Australian Muslims motivations which just don't exist for them, Neferti. You do know the difference between Islamists and Moderate Muslims or don't you even care?

We have been down this path as a society numerous times before for each successive group of immigrants, until to find in the end that all the lies and myths were just that, lies and myths and prejudice. We've seen it with Catholics, we've seen it with Irish, Italians, Greeks, Germans, Yugoslavs, Indochinese, Chinese, do we need to make the same mistakes and embroil innocent people with this bullshit? Really?

[Neferti]

The first mosque in Australia was built in 1861 at Marree, South Australia. The Great Mosque of Adelaide was built in 1888 by the descendants of the Afghan cameleers.

The immigrants who came here after WW2 to make a better life, did NOT wear "scarves".

The current Muslims are absolutely NOTHING like their ancestors who were good people.
Suddenly we have a problem with "religion".

Again, you ascribe to the majority of Australian Muslims motivations which just don't exist for them, Neferti. You do know the difference between Islamists and Moderate Muslims or don't you even care?

We have been down this path as a society numerous times before for each successive group of immigrants, until to find in the end that all the lies and myths were just that, lies and myths and prejudice. We've seen it with Catholics, we've seen it with Irish, Italians, Greeks, Germans, Yugoslavs, Indochinese, Chinese, do we need to make the same mistakes and embroil innocent people with this bullshit? Really?

YOU are a THE RACIST .... I am NOT. I accept everybody ... until they prove otherwise ... to Me.

[brian ross]

The first mosque in Australia was built in 1861 at Marree, South Australia. The Great Mosque of Adelaide was built in 1888 by the descendants of the Afghan cameleers.

The immigrants who came here after WW2 to make a better life, did NOT wear "scarves".

The current Muslims are absolutely NOTHING like their ancestors who were good people.
Suddenly we have a problem with "religion".

Again, you ascribe to the majority of Australian Muslims motivations which just don't exist for them, Neferti. You do know the difference between Islamists and Moderate Muslims or don't you even care?

We have been down this path as a society numerous times before for each successive group of immigrants, until to find in the end that all the lies and myths were just that, lies and myths and prejudice. We've seen it with Catholics, we've seen it with Irish, Italians, Greeks, Germans, Yugoslavs, Indochinese, Chinese, do we need to make the same mistakes and embroil innocent people with this bullshit? Really?

YOU are a THE RACIST .... I am NOT. I accept everybody ... until they prove otherwise ... to Me.

Yeah, yeah, sure, Neferti. You have no evidence that I am a Racist. Now, you don't seem to care or even understand that you've blackened the names all the Muslims immigrants who have arrived on our shores in the last what, 74 years? You appear to dislike Muslims well 'cause they are Muslims and hence different. Funny that.

[The4thEstate]

Again, you make no effort to differentiate between the real loons and the moderate, well assimilated, Muslims, "Nicole". For you, all Muslims are evil. How fair is that? As I have said, why do we have to go down this well worn, ultimately pointless, road of intolerance and prejudice which is all based upon ignorance? You seem to wallow in it, like most Islamophobes. You don't want to look at the reality, you just want to concentrate on your myths. Tsk, tsk.

It's not Islamophobic to read and recognize simple statistics. For instance, this story from a few years ago speaks volumes

Not disagreeing with you, 4E. Yes, Religious extremism does drive Terrorism, world wide.

However, are you suggesting that mainstream, moderate Mosques teach religious extremism? Really?

I'm suggesting exactly what I suggested -- that it's impossible to determine whether or not any given Muslim refugee (or his children) might someday suffer an attack of Sudden Jihad Syndrome and abruptly decide it's his duty to massacre a large number of "infidels" in the name of the Prophet.

Likewise, who can say for sure what gets discussed in the back rooms of the average "mainstream" mosque? All I know is that:

(1) Whenever there's a terrorist attack by a member of a particular mosque, you can always count on the imam and fellow worshipers to declare that they had no idea he was planning to do it, and that this wasn't the Abdul they knew, etc.

(2) It's worth noting that nobody ever uses the word "radicalized" when referring to refugees of other faiths.

To also suggest that we don't need to worry about Christian extremists flies in the face of recent history in the US and other places around the world. In India, one of the largest extremist groups is actually Christian in it's teachings. The largest of course is Hindu. In Europe, Christianity predominates in the extremist stakes. In Africa, again, despite all the publicity, the largest Terrorist groups are guess what? Christian. It is why Rwandans are turning to Islam and why the inhabitants of the Central African Republic live in fear. In the US, various Terrorist groups all run under the banner of "Christianity". Terrorism exists around the world and it has many different hues but the end result is the same, now isn't it?

The end result isn't the same when it comes to the overall body count. That's why the Global Terrorism Index listed the Taliban, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram and ISIS as the deadliest terrorism groups in the recent year I cited.

And why none of those groups was named Mass Murder For Jesus or Mazel Tov Cocktails, etc.

Instead of over-concentrating on Muslims - the overwhelming majority of whom are peaceful, law-abiding, assimilated, moderate people, well who should we be looking at, Mmmm? :

Given the vastly greater body count committed by one particular religion, I'd say that "Mmmm" is the first sound in the correct answer.

[Black Orchid]

I would like to know why the Victorian government used taxpayer money to make this mosque possible by granting them $400,000.

Only in Victoria

[brian ross]

I would like to know why the Victorian government used taxpayer money to make this mosque possible by granting them $400,000.

Only in Victoria

They did it 'cause they were asked to, Black Orchid. They saw it was a profitable enterprise and it might earn them some votes, so they did it.

Just as they funded a large village for ex-homeless people in Bendigo to the tune of $7 million.

As the Mosque is only part of a community centre designed to service the entire Bendigo community, I rather think everybody has, as per usual in the grip of their Islamophobia, gone off their heads.

The Andrews Government is doing what Governments do. Supplying services to the community. Simples really.

[brian ross]

Again, you make no effort to differentiate between the real loons and the moderate, well assimilated, Muslims, "Nicole". For you, all Muslims are evil. How fair is that? As I have said, why do we have to go down this well worn, ultimately pointless, road of intolerance and prejudice which is all based upon ignorance? You seem to wallow in it, like most Islamophobes. You don't want to look at the reality, you just want to concentrate on your myths. Tsk, tsk.

It's not Islamophobic to read and recognize simple statistics. For instance, this story from a few years ago speaks volumes

Not disagreeing with you, 4E. Yes, Religious extremism does drive Terrorism, world wide.

However, are you suggesting that mainstream, moderate Mosques teach religious extremism? Really?

I'm suggesting exactly what I suggested -- that it's impossible to determine whether or not any given Muslim refugee (or his children) might someday suffer an attack of Sudden Jihad Syndrome and abruptly decide it's his duty to massacre a large number of "infidels" in the name of the Prophet.

OK, how do you tell when a Christian migrant is going to go off their head and mount a private crusade against say, an Abortion Clinic, 4E? How about a Buddhist deciding to kill Muslims? Or a Hindu or an average American Joe Bloggs?

You cannot. Therefore you make efforts to prevent them, before they occur. When they do occur, you punish the perpetrators with the full force of the law.

Likewise, who can say for sure what gets discussed in the back rooms of the average "mainstream" mosque? All I know is that:

(1) Whenever there's a terrorist attack by a member of a particular mosque, you can always count on the imam and fellow worshipers to declare that they had no idea he was planning to do it, and that this wasn't the Abdul they knew, etc.

(2) It's worth noting that nobody ever uses the word "radicalized" when referring to refugees of other faiths.

Au contraire! "Radicalisation" is basically a new word and a newish concept. Other faiths are just as easily radicalised, 4E. You have Christians killing Abortion Clinic staff. You have Christians engaging in wide-spread kiddie fiddling. "Radicalisation" can take many forms. White Supremacy seems to be hitting the radar nowadays. Funny that, hey, 4E?

To also suggest that we don't need to worry about Christian extremists flies in the face of recent history in the US and other places around the world. In India, one of the largest extremist groups is actually Christian in it's teachings. The largest of course is Hindu. In Europe, Christianity predominates in the extremist stakes. In Africa, again, despite all the publicity, the largest Terrorist groups are guess what? Christian. It is why Rwandans are turning to Islam and why the inhabitants of the Central African Republic live in fear. In the US, various Terrorist groups all run under the banner of "Christianity". Terrorism exists around the world and it has many different hues but the end result is the same, now isn't it?

The end result isn't the same when it comes to the overall body count. That's why the Global Terrorism Index listed the Taliban, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram and ISIS as the deadliest terrorism groups in the recent year I cited.

And yet most of their casualties are their fellow Muslims, rather than Westerners, 4E. The most number of Terrorist incidents in Europe and the US have been committed by non-Muslims. Funny that, hey?

And why none of those groups was named Mass Murder For Jesus or Mazel Tov Cocktails, etc.

Christians just put on nice military uniforms and kill millions of people for their God, 4E and it's called "war" and that is perfectly OK with you, it seems.

Instead of over-concentrating on Muslims - the overwhelming majority of whom are peaceful, law-abiding, assimilated, moderate people, well who should we be looking at, Mmmm? :

Given the vastly greater body count committed by one particular religion, I'd say that "Mmmm" is the first sound in the correct answer.

I think you'll find that Christians kill far more Muslims than Muslims kill Christians, 4E. They do it with drones, with laser-guided bombs, missiles, machine guns and assault rifles. Islamists are much more personal about their death dealing it seems. Funny that, hey?

[Nom De Plume]

I would like to know why the Victorian government used taxpayer money to make this mosque possible by granting them $400,000.

Only in Victoria

They did it 'cause they were asked to, Black Orchid. They saw it was a profitable enterprise and it might earn them some votes, so they did it.

Just as they funded a large village for ex-homeless people in Bendigo to the tune of $7 million.

As the Mosque is only part of a community centre designed to service the entire Bendigo community, I rather think everybody has, as per usual in the grip of their Islamophobia, gone off their heads.

The Andrews Government is doing what Governments do. Supplying services to the community. Simples really.

As a Victorian, I’m happy with the Govt