Cartoon Crisis - blogs make it into mainstream media.

There seems to be worldwide interest in the ongoing crisis over the anti-Islamic cartoons. But is it still news, or is it a case of the media feeding on itself? It seems to The View from Fez that when reporting how others are reporting on the story becomes the story ( if you see what I mean! ) - then it is time to move on.

Latest in the mainstream news media to pick up on the blogosphere is the Philadelphia Inquirer (in the USA) which ran with: Muslim bloggers on cartoon uproar Columnist Jerry Rubin has an interesting collection of blog quotes including one from The View From Fez. (Thanks Jerry).

However, it should also be noted that attitudes are hardening on both sides of the debate. In the Muslim world the anger over the cartoons has not diminished, but the street protests have. In the non-Muslim world, those who have harboured suspicions about Muslims all being dangerous potential terrorists, have firmed in their views. Opinion polls point to stereotypes being reinforced on both sides. As far away from the epicentre of the troubles as you might imagine you can get, in Australia, the debate rages on. A poll of school children showed that anti-Islamic feeling has taken root and will need a lot of work to eradicate.


"MUSLIMS ARE A THREAT"

Australian politician Danna Vale's racist remarks stunned even the media
Worse still is the use of the word "Muslims" as a threat. In an extraordinary development, an Australian Federal politician suggested that Australia was in danger of being overrun by Muslims! At a time when the cartoon crisis has inflamed an already uneasy relationship in Australia between different religions in Australia, the racist views of a thoughtless politician are unhelpful, to say the least. Here is what the politician had to say:

"I've actually read in the Daily Telegraph where a certain imam from the Lakemba mosque actually said that Australia's going to be a Muslim nation in 50 years' time," Danna Vale. "I didn't believe him at the time, but you know when you actually look at the birth rates and when you look at the fact that we are aborting ourselves almost out of existence by 100,000 abortions every year and that's on a guesstimate. You multiply that by 50 years, that's five million potential Australians we won't have here."

Given that the remarks were made within the context of a debate on abortion, the notion that Muslims were outbreeding non-Muslims was outrageous. Worse was the implication that Muslim Australians were not "real" Australians. Thankfully most community leaders distanced themselves from the obnoxious racist remarks. And Islamic leaders condemned the comments.

"How low can this person get to in terms of racism?" president of Australian Federation of Islamic Councils Dr Amir Ali said. "This is the most racist comment I have ever seen." Dr Ali said Ms Vale's comments were destructive to the social fabric of Australia. "Muslim people are human beings, they are also living in poverty, they can't afford to have more than a couple of children these days," he said.

John Morgan, director of Australian Institute of Ethics and Professions and an Anglican priest, said Ms Vale had been divisive.

"At a time when Australian society needs to see itself as one and we are talking about people learning about Australia and absorbing Australian values, to make divisive comments like this is not only less than helpful its aggressive in the wrong way," he said.

See full story here: Danna Vale isolated by her collegues


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