Wilders, Freedom of Speech, and Australia

And so after a long effort of lobbying and putting the heat on the Federal Government, the powers that be have finally yielded to public pressure and backed down on their recalcitrance over granting a visa to Dutch MP Geert Wilders. However they did manage to drag on the whole deliberation long enough to ruin his proposed trip here later this month.

So he may now come in February of next year. The Q Society had tried to get him out here to speak in Melbourne and Sydney, but a thick-headed and hypocritical government dragged its feet on granting him a visa. It is likely without all the public pressure the answer may have been a simple no.

So while Australia allows known sympathisers of terrorism into the country, it hems and haws over one who simply warns of the dangers of militant Islam. Incredibly, in today’s press the Immigration Minister Chris Bowen issued his backdown by slamming Wilders.

He began his piece in the Australian today with these words: “Geert Wilders is wrong. His views are offensive. To read his writings is to be struck by their ignorance and their wrongheaded views of other people’s beliefs.” Offensive? Offensive to who? Certainly to radical Muslims. But not to me, and millions of other Australians.

Ignorance? He lives in a nation and a continent plagued with problems caused by non-assimilating Muslims who prefer sharia law to Western democracy, and he had written an entire book about this. For his troubles he is under 24/7 protection. I reviewed his excellent book here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2012/06/23/a-review-of-marked-for-death-by-geert-wilders/

So if anyone is ignorant, it clearly is the Immigration Minister. What does he know about Islam? How many books has he written on the topic? How long has he lived in Europe? What experience does he have with living under constant death threats from Muslim militants?

Fortunately there have been a few voices of sanity here. Yesterday Paul Sheehan wrote on the “betrayal of liberalism”. In his article he wrote this: “The Australian organisers of the Wilders trip are resigning themselves to being out of pocket by at least $10,000 if the Minister for Immigration, Chris Bowen, continues to stall. The trip was going to be cancelled yesterday but the organisers have decided to hold for a few more days. After six weeks of silence, the federal government hasn’t had the courage to deny Wilders a visa. It prefers the back door.

“This confirms, as if any more confirmation were needed, the gutlessness that lies at the core of Australia’s multibillion-dollar debacle on border security, where the thin blue line on border integrity has been turned into a wide yellow streak. While the government blusters, the people smugglers keep thriving and the cost of processing asylum seekers soars well beyond $100,000 per person.

“Wilders is an elected member of parliament, has never been convicted of a crime and is an outspoken defender of pluralism, democracy, feminism and freedom of speech. He believes these bedrock liberal values are being eroded by a steady, incremental challenge from Muslims in Holland. He now lives under constant police protection. Four prominent critics of Islam in Holland have been assassinated or threatened with death in recent years.

“Wilders argues that the root cause of growing ill-liberalism in Holland, and also in Belgium and France, is driven by strict adherents of Islam. He does not think the problem is confined to an extreme fringe. Rather, he sees the stresses between Muslims and non-Muslims in Holland as rooted in a general insularity among Muslims because Islam is not only a religion but a social, legal and political system that gives Islam primacy over the state. Wilders was to have given speeches in Sydney and Melbourne in two weeks, sponsored by a private group, the Q Society, which was funding his visit via private donations and ticket sales.

“The Gillard government appears intent on stopping this visit, even though it recently granted a visa to an Islamic fundamentalist, Taji Mustafa, a spokesman for Hizb ut-Tahrir, the group implicated in the violent demonstration by several hundred Muslims in Sydney two weeks ago, while Mustafa was visiting the country. The Arabic script on headbands and T-shirts worn by many demonstrators were variations of the theme of jihad, such as ‘We are your soldiers, Muhammad’. An apologist for jihad was allowed into the country to speak while a member of the Dutch parliament has been stopped.”

He concludes, “During the five years of federal Labor governments, the ramp-up of immigration and boat people arrivals has helped a historic surge in the Muslim population of Australia, from about 350,000 to 500,000. The number of Muslim permanent residents has risen 75 per cent in the past decade. Labor holds several electorates in western Sydney with significant Muslim populations.

“In 1972, when Labor introduced formal multiculturalism under the then minister for immigration, Al Grassby, Muslims represented just 0.2 per cent of Australia’s population. This percentage has risen more than twentyfold in the ensuing 40 years. Grassby’s reputation has been disgraced by revelations about his numerous links to Italian organised crime.

“This would not surprise Wilders, a trenchant critic of multiculturalism, whose policies are much further to the right than those of the Coalition. The PVV rose to prominence after he expressed alarm about problems associated with the rapid growth of the Muslim population, which now exceeds 1 million in a country of 16.7 million and is growing about four times faster than the non-Muslim population.

“Meanwhile, back at Australia’s border debacle, the Gillard government refuses to embrace policies that have proved to be effective such as temporary protection visas for asylum seekers, or to set up an advanced interception line off Sri Lanka. So the boats keep coming – another three over the weekend with 333 asylum seekers – while the government expends $1 billion a year servicing its own impotence.”

The Q Society put out a media release today, which says in part: “The majority of Australians sense something is not quite right and the recent publicity serves to highlight the fact that many Australians feel concern about the increasing Islamisation of Australia. The level of support from the public via letters, telephone calls and emails, has been overwhelming. Our commitment to ensuring the Geert Wilders tour goes ahead next February is without question. Q Society’s ultimate aim is to educate, provide information and continue to address the issue of Islamisation by sponsoring guest speakers and promoting tours and engagements throughout the country.”

I am looking forward to February. It will be a good day for freedom and a good day for Australia.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/nothing-to-gain-from-wilders-ban/story-e6frg6zo-1226486132517
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/visa-insult-a-betrayal-of-liberalism-20120930-26tk2.html

Click to access GW_Media_Release_02OCT12.pdf

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