Australian town rejects Islamic school

The city council of Camden, a suburb of Sydney, has rejected a proposal by the Qur'anic society to build an Islamic school in the town. The planned school would have accommodated 1,200 students. The nine city councillors voted unanimously against the proposal, citing reasons such as a risk of increased traffic congestion and parking problems that would result if the project were approved.

During the consultation stage of the approval process, the city council received 3,042 briefs from residents against the proposed school, and only 23 in favour.

After the council voted to reject the application, Camden resident Kate McCulloch said that, although the councillors would not admit it, the main reason for rejecting the school was that many townsmen wanted to keep Muslims out. McCulloch, who supported the council's decision, explained that "They don't like what their culture is about. Look at every news channel overseas -- it is about oppression and it's just not democratic. Hezbollah is a terrorist organisation -- I'm sorry, I don't want them in Australia."

In order to explain her reference to Hizbullah, McCulloch said that radical Muslims tended to hide in small towns, adding that "All them terrorist attacks did happen overseas, they were someone's friends, they were someone's neighbours...."

The mayor of Camden, Chris Patterson, said that he fully supported the idea of "multicultural schooling", and had rejected the Islamic school proposal for reasons that had nothing to do with religion (Australian).

During a previous residents' meeting to discuss the Islamic school project, some speakers asked the council to reject the application in order to avoid a takeover of the town by Muslims, of whom there are about 150 families in Camden. One man said "Can I just say this without being racist or political? In 1983, in the streets of London a parade by Muslims chanted incessantly 'If we can take London, we can take the world.' Don't let them take Camden."

Andrew Wynnet, of the Camden/Macarthur Residents' Group, asked a BBC reporter, "When you have no Muslims living in Camden, why have a Muslim school here?" (this despite the fact that there are Muslims in the town). Wynnet went on to explain that his opposition to the school flows from his opposition to other Muslims moving to Camden: "The character of the town will change. When you have a large facility like this, the parents will follow. That amount of parents will change the character of the town. If you introduce 1,500 Muslim people to the town they'd be a majority. And that's not what this town is about."

The right-wing politician Pauline Hanson also visited Camden to campaign against the school, which she had at first thought would be a mosque.

The Quranic Society may appeal the town council's decision to the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales (BBC).

Govt-Hizbullah clashes break out in Lebanon

After years of peaceful confrontation, the standoff between the pro-Western Lebanese government and Hizbullah has turned violent. When the government sent in the Lebanese army to dismantle a phone network operated by Hizbullah, the militant movement decided to fight back.

According to the head of Hizbullah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, "This decision was a declaration of war and the start of war on the resistance and its weapons. Our response to this decision is that whoever declares or starts a war, be it a brother or a father, then it is our right to defend ourselves and our existence." However, Nasrallah said that his movement would stop fighting if the army withdrew from the streets.

There is a danger of the armed conflict spilling over into mixed Sunni-Shi'ite neighbourhoods in Beirut. In one such neighbourhood, Sunnis chanted "God is with the Sunnis," while Shi'ites responded with the words "The Shi'ite blood is boiling". Lebanese army soldiers acted as a barrier between the two sides.

This may be the closest Lebanon has come to a new civil war since the last one ended in 1990 (New York Times).

Let's hope it blows over. I think Hizbullah should know that the support it enjoys among Sunni Arabs would evaporate were it to start a real civil war against the government. I don't think it can afford to risk that.

Are the Lebanese against Hamas? It depends

According to the recent Pew Global Attitudes Survey (PDF here), 67% of Lebanese respondents have an unfavourable view of Hamas. However, while 87% of Lebanese Christians and 76% of Lebanese Sunni Muslims hold that view, only 35% of Lebanese Shi'ite Muslims do.

Once again, I think the fact that 50% of Lebanese Shi'ites actually hold a positive view of Hamas (a Sunni militant group) lies in the fact that many Lebanese Shi'ites support the equally militant Shi'ite group Hizbullah.

Religious divide on Israel and Palestine in Lebanon

According to the recent Pew Global Attitudes Survey (PDF here), 49% of Lebanese respondents agree with the idea that "a way can be found for Israel and Palestinian rights to coexist". However, 70% of Lebanese Christians and 57% of Lebanese Sunni Muslims agree with this statement, but only 16% of Lebanese Shi'ite Muslims do.

If nothing else, this demonstrates what an unhealthy influence Hizbullah has been in Lebanon; the militant group's support base consists of Shi'ites, and they are the main recipients of its propaganda that rejecting peace with Israel.

Nasrallah praises Winograd Commission

Hassan Nasrallah, head of Hizbullah, has expressed his "every respect" for the Winograd Commission, praising it for condemning Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's leadership failures, despite having been appointed by Olmert himself (BBC).