by Ray Dixon (a Victorian and not-a-muslim-basher)
Bendigo woman Monika Evers would not approve of the above – not in her town.
No Burqas for Bendigo is Monika’s mantra and sworn belief.
You see, Monika hates Muslims so much (or ‘fears’ them so much she hates them – same thing) that she lodged a VCAT objection against the Bendigo Council’s approval of a Mosque proposed to be built in the regional Victorian City of Bendigo. One of 432 such objections (from a population of over 100,000).
Monika also joined (or formed) a local protest group whose arguments against the Mosque included such gems of genius as these:
Opponents said the mosque would bring violence to Bendigo and the city would be overtaken by Sharia law.
“If you’re Muslim and you want a mosque, go back to the Middle East. This is Australia,” one member of the public said.
The protest group asked what councillors were doing to protect the city from terrorism and accused the council of failing to consult the community.
“Bendigo people own Bendigo, it’s their town, they have the right to say mosque or no mosque,” one person said.
“We’re not racists.”
But Monika went further than that and started up an anti-Mosque Facebook page, Stop the Mosque in Bendigo. Not surprisingly, the Facebook page contains very little about the actual proposed building itself but a shitload of anti-muslim sentiment and reports and commentary on Islamic matters from far and wide, none of which seems relevant to Bendigo, which has had an established Muslim community for over 15 years that has peacefully co-existed with the “owners”, i.e. with “Bendigo people”, you know, the real “owners” of Bendigo, got it? Read it if you like but it doesn’t make much sense or have any coherence – just a lot of hate speech (GD might enoy it though?)
So Monika trots off to VCAT and what does she do? Well, she applies to have her name suppressed because, according to her, she’s received “online death threats” and “fears for her safety”. What a surprise.
Despite claims by her advocate that “the alleged threats to her safety have led to Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police checking in on her a number of times”, VCAT rejected the suppression application, saying there was a lack of credible information to support Ms Evers’ safety threat claims, which I guess means neither ASIO or the Police found any evidence of them either.
Oh dear, what does a true blue Aussie girl just trying to protect herself and her fellow Bendigoites from:
Sharia Law
Terrorists
Jihadists
Halal sausages and
BURQAS
… then go and do?
………………..
……………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………….. ?????????????????????????????????
Well she leaves the court in tears of course (under police guard) while attempting to hide her identity ….
…. like this:
Oh, the irony.
I’ll give the last word on this episode of anti-Muslim madness to a member of Bendigo’s Islamic community and to the Victorian Government’s Minister for Planning Matthew Guy (who is a Liberal MP, GD please note):
A member of Bendigo’s Islamic community said he was grateful the local council had decided to support plans.
Heri Febriyanto said the local Muslim community was growing, and has nowhere to pray or celebrate.
“We are also the local community in Bendigo,” Mr Febriyanto said.
“We have been living here for more than 15 years, so we are same as the locals in Bendigo, we are working as well.
“So I think we should have the equality of rights, then we would like to live in harmony within the community of Bendigo.”
Victoria’s Planning and Multicultural Affairs Minister, Matthew Guy, has backed the council’s decision and criticised the comments of some of those opposing the application.
“People making those kinds of comments are silly, I mean that’s not what we expect in this country, particularly on a planning matter like this, people should be respectful and sensible,” Mr Guy said.
“They’ve considered it (the mosque application) on its merits, it’s got through, if people want to appeal it they should, but it should be on the grounds of planning law and not on emotion.”
Thank you Heri – when did you get off welfare again? GD wants to know how (and why) you did that, you bludger.
And thank you Matthew Guy. For a while there I was losing my faith in my fellow Victorians and was contemplating a move to Western Sydney Wellington, New Zealand.
We are ‘The Smarter State’ after all.
I think.
I hope.
Iain Hall's SANDPIT 
Poor Monika, she needs to move to Camden, NSW. There’s a lot more of her small minded xenophobes here. T’was the end of the world when Council approval was sought for a Muslim School in the area. Ultimately the xeno’s won and the school was rejected, although I suspect that the Council would strongly deny such an allegation. The ultimate irony. The Muslim community purchased a cemetery attached to a one of the local churches. Heaven knows what the Christians in the cemetery think!! Perhaps Monika could set up a Facebook page for them?
I am fully faux horrified to find this post at the Sandpit Ray!
None the less as I give you and others who write her an open remit i will have to wear it won’t I?
OK the crux of your argument here is to suggest that those who are concerned about about the spread of Islam are either stupid or raving Xenophopes. Its a spurious argument really and you only have to look to today’s news that tells us of another Aussie suicide Bomber killing in Baghdad to realize that there is GOOD reason to be suspicious of the religion that inspires such barbarity
No more “horrified” than others might be to find the plethora of anti-muslim posts, I guess, Iain.
Anyway, the “crux” of the argument is indeed that people like Monika (and the rest of the tiny minority of Bendigo that opposed the Mosque with their ridiculous fears & arguments), are indeed stupid xenophobes.
Just answer me this Ray;
Where is the money for this mosque coming from? after all the congregation in question is reputedly about 200 and they are talking about a build cost of more than 2 million…
Well I dunno, Iain, and it seems you’ve found a different report than the three I linked to – no mention of the numbers and cost in there, do you have a link?
Off the top of my head though, I’d suggest the money comes from the wider muslim community. They have jobs, remember?
Ray:
You’ve got to be joking, Ray. As posted on the Sandpit, the unemployment rate, from the ABS, shows that Muslim communities have almost twice the unemployment rate of mainstream Aussies.
Here are some facts regarding Islamic funding by the Australian government.
In the past two years, five Islamic schools have had state or federal funding frozen after allegations of financial irregularities.
Sydney’s largest Muslim school,Malek Fahd, has been ordered by the state government to pay back $9 million after an investigation by The Australian revealed millions were funnelled from the school to the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils.
A former principal of Bellfield College, Sam Cannavo resigned as principal late last month over the management of the 230-student school, making a formal complaint to police alleging that up to $2.1 million had gone missing from the school.
Bellfield College, in southwest Sydney, received $4.1 million from state and federal governments last year, meaning 80 per cent of its revenue comes from taxpayer funds. The school received an extra $2.2m in capital grants last year, and is eligible for the highest levels of government assistance available to independent schools.
A builder hired by the school has also made a police complaint, alleging he was paid only half of the almost $5 million the school had charged for projects at the school, alleging the school had charged millions in fake invoices.
Is it any wonder where the money for building a $2 million mosque for two hundred ‘worshippers’ in Bendigo is coming from? Clearly siphoned off from government grants for over-generously funded Muslim schools.
Ray
You do the sums but even assuming that the majority of the Muslim residents are doing OK in employment its just not credible to claim that they will be getting that sort of money “the wider Muslim community.” I’m to lazy to check back on my earlier post on this Mosque but the notion that the money will be coming from Saudi Arabia is ringing big bells right now. And I reiterate what I am sure I said then. Firstly its quite normal to expect that he who pays the piper calls the tune and if the Saudis are paying they will demand that it is the Wahhabi version of Islam that is propagated at this Mosque. Secondly there is the Kevin Costner “build it and they will come” effect which suggest that this may well be the thin edge of the wedge for Bendigo.
Finally while you may feel that Islam is entirely benign and those who object are the ones at fault you do so by being willfully blind to both the nature of Islam and its history everywhere that it manages to get a toehold
Yeah right guys, here’s some news for you – there has been a large Mosque in another regional city in Victoria for over 40 years – in Shepparton. They have a large muslim community including Albanians (the first ones) up to Iraqis (the more recent ones). There are NO problems with muslims in Shepparton. None whatsoever. They are not “unemployed”, they do not create social issues or give rise to fear in the community. But a lot of Aussie born, dole bludging trash have made it one of the most unsafe places in regional Victoria in which to venture out at night.
As for your rubbish about how it’s funded, well it’s a church, not a school so I guess how they pay for it is a private matter.
Iain, I’ve run “Bendigo” through the search engines on both your comments & posts admin pages and I can’t find any post you’ve previously written on this particular Mosque. So perhaps your “Saudi funding” suggestion is a furphy?
I did say that I was unsure of just where I heard it Ray but its the sort of thing that is common when it comes to the financing of Mosque building as this report in Fairfax Points out
Even if a particular congregation is currently benign as you suggest is the case with Shepperton how can you be so sanguine about money coming in from the Saudis and influencing the direction of the mosque towards the most extreme expressions of that faith?
There’s much conjecture about Saudi Arabia funding terrorism, Iain, and there’s no doubt that some elements of it are true – for instance, didn’t Bin Laden get his money from his oil-rich family, a Saudi sheikdom?
Whether or not you can tie that back to the Saudi Royal Family (who are the Saudi Govt) though is unclear. Somehow I doubt the Saudi Govt itself is involved in funding terrorists to bring down the western countries who are their major customers. Also, they have strict laws AGAINST any such funding. You might be confusing splinter groups with State sanctioned funding.
I don’t think you’ll find the Mosques in Australia accepting funds from the Saudi Govenment will turn into Jihadist terrorist cells wreaking havoc on country towns like Bendigo. Futhermore, I think you’ll find (well, you won’t find it actually because it’s kept under cover) that our authorities like ASIS, ASIO & the AFP do not turn a blind eye to any funds flowing into muslim communities from overseas muslim countries and monitor and investigate those sources very thoroughly. Any transactions involving local groups accepting money from overseas terrorist organisations would be quickly intercepted and banned. Charges would follow. Seems to be working, mate.
So you have to look at the building of a Mosque on its merits, which thankfully our Government (our COALITION government) does. They don’t listen to these silly conspiracy theories and emotive arguments but, hey, maybe get in touch with Monika and tell her to lodge her VCAT objection on the grounds you describe above and see how that goes down with the Victorian State COALITION Government. And with Tony Abbott.
Oh Geezus, Iain, I’ve just noticed that the SMH article you quoted was from 2002 … a bit out of date, mate.
Anyway, I’ve found another one from 2007 (also old, but not as old as yours) in which our Foreign Minister of the time (being Coalition Foreign Minister Alexander Downer) comments on this very subject relevant to a Sth Austn Mosque.
What he says is totally consistent with my argument, ie that the Austn Govt and its agencies does indeed monitor the source of such funding and discerns between funding from the Saudi Govt (which it does not see as terrorism funding) and that from splinter groups:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Saudi-funding-for-SA-mosque-investigated/2007/01/08/1168104911288.html
So I think the good folk of Bendigo can relax and sleep with both eyes shut, not needing to fear that Mustafa from the local Mosque is coming to behead them anytime soon.
As Iain pointed out, there are only about 200 or so Muslims living in Bendigo. So why build a mosque that can accommodate over 1,000 people? You tell us, Ray.
Perhaps it’s because the Muslim community is expected to grow, as it has in Lakemba, Auburn and other suburbs of Western Sydney. Unlike your supposed ‘angelic, fully-employed’ Muslims of Shepparton, the Western Sydney Muslim community has a shocking record of unemployment and crime.
The NSW Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad was formed specifically to deal with this increase in criminal behaviour such as car-rebirthing, drugs, extortion, fraud and drive-by shootings.
Muslims have a higher birth-rate than other Australians. Couple this with the unfettered influx of Muslims in recent years and you have a recipe for Muslim population growth far exceeding other cultures.
How is this good for Australia?
How long before Shepparton and Bendigo are experiencing the same problems that Western Sydney is?
France today
Don’t think it could happen here?
Here’s Paris a few days ago:
Islamic immigrants have turned Paris into another war zone.
It was better known for being like this:
Why don’t you find out for yourself, GD, if you’re really that concerned? Get onto ASIO or the AFP and point this out: “Hey look, that Bendigo Mosque can hold 1,000 but there’s only 200 or so Muzzies in the area – they must be planning to import terrorists and I’m scared!!!”
Look, you can use the raw 2011 census data as much as you like but obviously there’d be no need for a Mosque if there were only 200 or so Muslims in the whole City of Bendigo. Maybe the figure is wrong? I don’t know and I don’t care.
As for your Paris example – they also had two world wars there so we better expel all the Germans from Oz don’t you reckon?
Germans in Australia are not rioting Ray
This sort of nonsense could easily degenerate into the same as we are seeing in Paris Ray
Iain, the point is that France (and Paris in particular) has been a hot bed of civil unrest (and wars) for thousands of years. Always will be. Same goes for a lot of Europe. When we see muslims burning cars in Collins Street (at the ‘Paris’ end), then you might have a comparison. And even then, I’m not seeing muslims in Paris do anything but a bit of typical French riotious behaviour – it’s not like they’re likely to cause much more chaos and mayhem than that. I don’t think the French are as worried about muslims as much as you are.
Anyway, here’s my take on yours & GD’s ridiculous ‘Domino’ theory:
And here’s what Paris will look like in a few days time, GD.
Do you think they’ll have cleaned up the mess by then?
Yeah, those muslims have taken over, haven’t they?:
Only when (and if) you move there, GD. They’ll follow you, just to give you the shits. So please stay where you are – the rest of Australia thinks Western Sydney is the right place for you and the muslims.
What a great target for Jihad Ray
Ray
The picture that GD posted was of Muslims rioting to protest the Gaza incursion so you can’t just dismiss it as ‘everyday rioting in France. Further your whole argument that such things are part of the nature of European cities because its just not at all true.
It is indeed true, Iain. The French have always taken to the streets – right through their history. They’re a strange lot but they look a lot worse than what they are and those protests re Gaza amount to next-to-nothing in the scheme of things. So what? And there is no correlation to a Mosque being built in Bendigo.
To continue, putting up pictures of muslims in Paris protesting Israel’s bombardment of Gaza does not build a picture of Jihadists attempting to take over France, impose Sharia law and commit acts of terrorism on French citizens, let alone suggest this Mosque in Bendigo will result in such acts in Australia. It’s just a noisy and very demonstrative protest/riot that (oddly enough) we haven’t seen copied here, even though we have over 500,000 muslims lving in Australia. Which actually suggests I’m right that we do not and will not follow the Europeans, Iain.
Ray, these rioters are Muslims, they are not French. Just as in Sweden, which I’ve linked to previously, those rioters aren’t Swedish.
Australia’s Muslim population is currently less than 2%. France is 5%, Sweden is 6%.
At 2%, Australia has already seen a riot in the Sydney CBD, a youth rampage at Cronulla including destruction of property in neighbouring suburbs, all because many Muslims refuse to assimilate into the Australian culture, yet partake of the benefits.
What will Sydney and Melbourne be like when the Muslim population reaches 5% of the population?
Oddly enough, previous immigrants didn’t riot in the streets or trash private property in a rampage. Italians, Greeks, Hindus and Buddhists, a much larger percentage of the population have succeeded in not only assimilating into but enriching our culture.
I have yet to see Muslims in Australia, Europe or the rest of the world enriching their adopted homeland. Wherever there is Islam, there is hate and disruption.
Unfortunately, those Muslims who don’t agree with the more radical Islamic proponents are strangely acquiescent about the horrors perpetuated by the extremists.
So those Muslims are not French GD? They’re not French citizens doing the rioting, they’re what?: Infiltrators, spies, illegal entrants, insurgents or Jihad footsoldiers on a mission perhaps? Why does France have such weak borders should be your query then, GD
(1) A riot in the Sydney CBD? Really? How much destruction was there? How many deaths or injuries? Prone to exaggeration are we? Australia has seen far worse than that … at Soccer games!
(2) Bullshit, GD. The Lebanese did not start the Cronulla riots. It was thousands & thousands of your Sydney bogans (marshalled up by Alan Jones) who cowardly attacked a handful of unfortunate Lebos who just happened to stroll into the area. They also attacked some Sri Lankans I think and anyone who remotely looked middle eastern or non-white. Indians too I believe. Yes, there was retalliation by some muslims youths in neighbouring suburbs but what do you expect? Cronulla had nothing to do with muslims “refusing to asimilate” – it was about race hate. Perhaps you should go find a link to some report that proves otherwise (I guess you would if you could but unfortunately ALL the reports will prove you wrong).
Really, GD? Why are you still living in Western Sydney then? Look mate, as I’ve said before, if you hate the country you live in so much (which you clearly do) you have two options:
1) Become a vigilante and take ’em out.
2) Virgin or Air NZ to Auckland.
ROTFLMAO
Ray you’re becoming a comedy act with claims like this.
I’m still laughing.
Your argument that Labor was good for the Oz economy is equally risible.
Perhaps you’ve got a different report that contradicts me (and that you’re keeping secret from the world), GD, but this sounds pretty accurate to me:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Cronulla_riots
Still laughing?
Ray
Tiy have to do better than Wiki 🙄
Journalism in Multicultural Australia – Case Studies 62
The trigger for the riots was the bashing of those life guards Ray and bashing lifeguards is just a little bit more of a trigger than the way that you portray it as “a handful of unfortunate Lebos who just happened to stroll into the area”
Iain, that’s way too long and the only point you seem to be making is that the Cronulla riots were related to the earlier bashing of 2 lifeguards by a (small) group of Lebanese youth.
Yes that’s true – we all know this. What we also know (and what your report also confirms) is that the actual riots consisted of about 5,000 Aussie bogans (whipped up or incited by Alan Jones) going out “Lebo bashing” anyone who looked slightly Middle Eastern. And that the victims were (a) innocent (b) in very small numbers (c) in no way contributing to the riot itself.
You have missed the point entirely, which is that GD claimed (or clearly inferred) the Cronulla riot was evidence of muslims failing to assimilate. Please … give me a freakin’ break mate, the Cronulla riots were an over-reaction by Aussie bogans and not in any way indicative of muslims.
Btw, you can knock the Wikipedia source I quoted as much as you like but you seem to forget it contains citations – ie direct links – to the same articles you’ve referred to above.
Ray
While I decry the riots as much as you do you always seem to forget the subsequent riotous behavior by the “Lebo Yoofs” the property damage ect now that was, as GD points out, a direct artifact of the gang culture in western Sydney.
Iain, this is what GD said:
He was clearly blaming the Cronulla riots on Muslims while omitting the disgraceful over-reaction and wrongheaded indiscriminate riotous and violent behaviour of the 5,000 bogans. He was distorting the truth. IOW … he was lying.
And I certainly did not “forget the subsequent riotous behavior by the “Lebo Yoofs” in other suburbs. This is what I said:
Those retaliations were small fry compared to the actual riot and only prove that if you ‘go to war’ against a small group of innocent people, you can expect there will be reprisals. Human nature.
Lets keep it in proportion Ray, Of the 5K bogans on a few were actually “rioting” even fewer were arrested and the damage from the “riot” amounted to SFA. and strangely enough there has been no repeat since which suggests to me that all combatants have , quite rightly, pulled their heads in. The Lebos have stopped trying to be so belligerent at the beach and the bogans have focused on more important things like getting stoned and drinking beer. That is a win for social cohesion right there.
Agreed Iain. It’s good to see you have a far more balanced view on this than GD does. The problem with GD is he takes events like Cronulla and uses it to support his clearly xenophobic and distorted muslim bashing. Maybe he shoulda just joined in the stoush?
Ray
you two make me seem very like Goldilocks , GD is very concerned indeed about Muslims in Australia and you keep insisting that its “no problem at all as long as we have AFL/we are not Europe*” Me, well I think that Islam is a pernicious ideology and that of its followers its only those who are nothing more than nominal or cultural Muslims who are really as benign as you suggest. The problem with your position is that the majority of the Muslin Diaspora in this country are not as benign as those that you have come to know personally.Those from the middle east rather than eastern Europe are a different type of halal entirely.
*paraphrase
And the problem with your position, Iain (and with GD’s), is that there is next to no evidence whatsoever that our Muslim population (now about 500,000) poses any threat whatsoever to our way of life and/or safety. You need evidence to make accusations, Iain, and you (both of you) lack any of substance. Why else do you think that even your precious idol Tony Abbott is not anywhere near as concerned as you and Gihad Dee (GD) are?
And I have probably met many more Middle Eastern Muslims than you and even GihaD have. We get plenty up here, especially in Winter (not much snow where they come from!) You see, I have this strange outlook, Iain: I don’t worry about where people come from, what they look like and what they believe in. As long as they don’t do anything that endangers or threatens me or others then what is the problem? Oh, and as long as they pay their bills and leave the units tidy.
Nearly forgot rider #2:
As long as they are not bald & short cyclists with a propensity for stalking.