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'Reclaim Australia' Rallies Against Sharia Law, Halal 'Tax'
“Reclaim Australia” rallies were held in 16 different locations across Australia Saturday. Billed as a call for “patriotic Australians” to “stand together to stop tax, Sharia law and Islamization,”. the rallies provoked violent encounters with counter protesters who billed the events as racist and anti-Muslim.Reclaim Australia, a community organization, denied the accusations. "We're not against any particular race or any particular religion," John Oliver, an activist with the organization, said. "We're against the extremists of one particular religion. I know in Sydney and Melbourne they've got Muslims already signed on to attend because they can see what's happening and they don't like what's happening." Most Reclaim Australia protesters interviewed seemed to agree that the group was opposed to Islamic extremism and not Muslims who follow Australian law and whose intentions were not to change Australian culture. Typical at the rallies were the sentiments of protester John Bolton who told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, "What I'm not against is ordinary Australian people who happen to be Muslims who follow their faith, they don't need anybody's permission, provided they comply with the Australian civil and criminal law and want to comply with our constitution." "Most here are happy to have immigrants who want to come and fit in," Reclaim Australia protester Rhonda Cashmore said. "We're protesting against immigrants who don't want to follow our laws." Reclaim Australia spokeswoman Catherine Brennan concurred. "We are pro-Australian values and anti-extreme Islam, but we're not anti-Muslim," she stated. “Since when is it being racist to love your country and to love the values and culture that you've been brought up with?" Australia has been hit with a spate of Islamic extremist crime. Last September, Australian police embarked on a major counter-terrorism operation in response to intelligence reports that the Islamic State was planning an imminent attack. In the largest terror raid in Australia’s history, close to 800 federal and state police officers were dispatched to more than 12 locations across Sydney, with more raids coordinated in Brisbane and Logan as well. Australia contributes the highest number of foreign fighters per capita to the ranks of the Islamic State. A number of Australian citizens have made the news for joining the Islamic State as well as the vast majority of the estimated 200 fighters who remain anonymous. Posted by: Steve White 2015-04-26 |
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