Australians are getting tired of this BS. The biggest problem is that muslim society is horrifically backwards and instead of trying to come out of its hell hole, it tries to drag everyone else down with them.
You can't say that about "Muslim" society because "Muslim" societies do not exist. What you are referring to is the society of immigrant (or otherwise) peoples, who happen to be Muslim. Think about it: some Christians in Egypt, Ethiopia, and the Levant practice gender segregation and (worse) female circumcision. Would you term these Christians "representatives" of their faith?
A follow up to my initial remark: Muslims have been fighting and killing each other ever since the Prophet Muhammad died. They managed to pull themselves together briefly - barring the Shia schism - to form a viable state. You may or may not have heard Muslims speak of the four "rightly guided" leaders (or caliphs) of this state. They were called "rightly guided" because they were democratically elected in the aboriginal Arab councils (the shuras) and because they put the principles of Islam - gender equality, tolerance, etc. - above the prejudices of their native culture. That's right: A lot of the nonsense you see emanating from Muslims today is largely the product of cultural values alien to Islam that unscrupulous bastards processed and fed to the uneducated masses.
You probably want to know why Muslims "hate women and democracy." The answer is simple: they don't. That rubbish was part of the tribal culture of Arabia. In the Qur'an, Muslims are
ordered to see men and women as equals, see the world with an open mind, and build bridges across religions and nationalities. And for a time, Muslims followed these commandments. But for the past 1300 years, Muslims have been in a state of decay and rot. Take a look at the respect accorded to women in the Qur'an - several chapters are named after famous women of history - and take a look at the pronoun variations used when referring to God.
You talked about the Muslim "cleric" that said women without veils are "uncovered meat." I'm not trying to be an asshole, but there is no clergy in Islam. Not even in Shia Islam: the Ayatollah is less a clergyman and more a political leader. Anyway, this man's idiotic statement is representative of the state of Muslims throughout the world. He has no formal education whatsoever. I've always personally questioned the Qur'anic basis for "fatwas" and mullahs and such - I've researched it a lot, and concluded that the Qur'an in fact forbids any such injunctions. This is consistent with the Quranic standpoint on everyone following their own path and their own interpretations, just as long as they obey the five pillars of Islam. So, we've established that this "cleric" has no authority to project his voice as that of the Muslim or even the Australian Muslim diaspora. Second, his statement reflects my earlier remark about the influence of native culture on Muslim thought: probably in whatever Indo-Pak village he grew up in, his Quran teacher told him that "women are fields for the sowing of man"* and other such bull****. He, along with millions of other Muslims, took the lesson to heart and now that he's memorized the Qur'an by rote thinks that he has the authority to pass judgement on any subject that he pleases. In short, he's not speaking as a Muslim, but rather as a donkey who's full of himself.
So why do Muslims follow and swallow such trash? Beats me, but most Muslims are uneducated and apathetic. They're even more parochial than the most virulent nationalists that Europe ever produced. They don't know and don't care, and most wouldn't hesitate to stab their brother in the back if they knew they could earn an extra dollar from it. Look at the map of the Middle East and read about how it was carved up, and you'll get the general idea. and before anyone gets on me for my racist attitude, I'm speaking as a member of this horrible community
There was my rant
- if anyone has any point they'd like me to elaborate on, I'll be happy to oblige. As the Qur'an says, faith is incomplete without knowledge.
*A shockingly common expression of ignorance in the Subcontinent
