http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,18251700%5E7583,00.html
Treasurer Peter Costello, at the Sydney Institute last night, on the imperative of the citizenship pledge
THE refusal to acknowledge the rule of law as laid down by democratic institutions stabs at the heart of the Australian compact. The radical Muslim cleric Ben Brika was asked in an interview on The 7.30 Report last August: "But don't you think Australian Muslims - Muslims living in Australia - also have a responsibility to adhere to Australian law?"
To which he answered: "This is a big problem. There are two laws: there is an Australian law and there is an Islamic law."
No, this is not a big problem. There is one law we are all expected to abide by. It is the law enacted by the parliament under the Australian Constitution. If you can't accept that, then you don't accept the fundamentals of what Australia is and what it stands for.
Our state is a secular state. As such it can protect the freedom of all religions for worship. Religion instructs its adherents on faith, morals and conscience. But there is not a separate stream of law derived from religious sources that competes with or supplants Australian law in governing our civil society. The source of our law is the democratically elected legislature...
Before entering a mosque, visitors are asked to take off their shoes. This is a sign of respect. If you have a strong objection to walking in your socks, don't enter the mosque. Before becoming an Australian, you will be asked to subscribe to certain values. If you have strong objections to those values, don't come to Australia.
Treasurer Peter Costello, at the Sydney Institute last night, on the imperative of the citizenship pledge
THE refusal to acknowledge the rule of law as laid down by democratic institutions stabs at the heart of the Australian compact. The radical Muslim cleric Ben Brika was asked in an interview on The 7.30 Report last August: "But don't you think Australian Muslims - Muslims living in Australia - also have a responsibility to adhere to Australian law?"
To which he answered: "This is a big problem. There are two laws: there is an Australian law and there is an Islamic law."
No, this is not a big problem. There is one law we are all expected to abide by. It is the law enacted by the parliament under the Australian Constitution. If you can't accept that, then you don't accept the fundamentals of what Australia is and what it stands for.
Our state is a secular state. As such it can protect the freedom of all religions for worship. Religion instructs its adherents on faith, morals and conscience. But there is not a separate stream of law derived from religious sources that competes with or supplants Australian law in governing our civil society. The source of our law is the democratically elected legislature...
Before entering a mosque, visitors are asked to take off their shoes. This is a sign of respect. If you have a strong objection to walking in your socks, don't enter the mosque. Before becoming an Australian, you will be asked to subscribe to certain values. If you have strong objections to those values, don't come to Australia.
