By Babette Francis
Below is my submission on Multiculturalism which was rejected by the ‘Senate Select Committee on Protecting and Strengthening Multiculturalism’.
The Committee rejected this Submission simply because it did not comply with the terms of reference which were to promote multiculturalism, not to oppose it!
To: The Senate Select Committee on Ways of Protecting and Strengthening Multiculturalism
Dear Committee,
This is a submission on behalf of Endeavour Forum Inc. which is a women’s NGO having special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations. We are opposed to the “strengthening” or promotion of multiculturalism. This does not mean disrespecting ethnic groups other than those of British origin, but it does mean that the unsavoury aspects of some other cultures should be acknowledged.
1/ I was born in India and lived there until my marriage to an Australian, after which I came to live in Australia.
2/ India is a fascinating “laboratory” for multiculturalism because it is probably the most multicultural country in the world. India has 15 main languages, about 150 dialects and several religions. This has not created harmony; and, in fact, led to the Partition of India in 1947 into India and Pakistan, because the Muslim-majority provinces could not tolerate the idea of living in a secular democracy.
Islamic culture does not give priority to democracy, freedom of speech or freedom of religion, with death sentences prescribed for apostates and blasphemers. Currently there are several prisoners, both Muslims and Christians, on death row in Pakistani jails on spurious charges of blasphemy.
3/ Even nearer to home, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, also known as Ahok, the popular former governor of Jakarta in moderate, supposedly secular Indonesia, has just been sentenced to two years in jail on a charge of blasphemy. Similarly in Turkey, a member of NATO and supposedly democratic and moderate, has arrested and jailed hundreds of journalists, generals in the army, and civilians from all walks of life, on charges alleging treason.
4/ All this should enable you to understand that that the culture of Islam is simply incompatible with democracy and basic human rights.
Islam mandates death for infidels, apostates, homosexuals, and for Christians and Jews who will not convert or cannot pay an additional tax. Some of the “multicultural” aspects of Islam include polygamy, child marriage (following the example of their “Prophet”), female genital mutilation, requiring rape victims to produce four pious male witnesses to the assault or if unable to do so, to be stoned for adultery, and sex-slave taking by the victors in any tribal war.
Saudi Arabia and Iran are the main examples of Sunni Muslim culture and Shia Muslim culture respectively. In Saudi Arabia women are forbidden from driving cars, and women in Iran are forbidden from cycling in public as these practices will allegedly damage their “virginity”.
5/ The culture of Hinduism also contained major abuses — such as suttee, the burning of widows on the funeral pyres of their husbands bodies, the dowry system (if insufficient dowry was paid, the hapless wife could be abused or discarded), and the caste system. The British colonial system (so despised by our multiculturalists) abolished suttee, and the Indian government, which is secular and democratic, has made the caste system and the requirement for payment of dowries illegal, but these “multicultural” practices still persist under the radar and are difficult to eradicate.
May I humbly suggest that you stop promoting “multiculturalism” and instead promote the Judeo-Christian culture of Western democracies which have given the world outstanding examples of freedom and prosperity. I am willing to give evidence to the committee at any public hearings and I hope you will call on me to do so – I have the unique experience of having worked on all five continents.