National identity's social cohesion is ANZAC
The dramatic arrest of young Muslim men from Lebanese background some 2nd generation Australians, in Melbourne on 23 December two days before Christmas - planning to do enormous damage to major Christmas celebration sites caught the nation's attention.
This was no idle threat. This was real. In our back yard. Moreover. others have been caught before - in both Melbourne and Sydney.
Federal Minister Peter Dutton had been soundly trounced by the leftie and elitsts media for calling out this section of the community providing chapter and verse of its historical roots under Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser. Now those same sections of the outraged media have nothing to say to Peter Dutton and a lot of thanks to the Victorian police Force and their team of experts and analysts who got to this before any damage was done.
The dilemma
The dilemma we all face with the Muslim community is that those who are peaceful and generous and helpful are at the forefront of helping the wider community to identify when something is going down.
The problem is two fold, first, they themselves are often ignorant of what their young people are up to (that's family life), and those that have a hunch might not want to say anything in case they are mistaken or they get their siblings or friends into a legal nightmare that might see them jailed for a very long time.
The second, these young men in Melbourne is that they were, for all concerned, part of this fabric of peaceful, generous and helpful Muslims, until they got caught. It's the same issue in Europe today. How do any of us know? We are told to be alert but not alarmed.
Moreover according to the 2011 Census only 2.2% of people living in Australia are Muslims. 71.9% affiliate with Christianity. A further 22% ticked the no-religion box. There are more Buddhists in Australia than Muslims. Why don't we see more Buddhists on shows like Q&A and The Project and such like.
Now we're told there are plans afoot in Sydney and Melbourne for Islamic Caliphates to be established within those cities by radicalised young Muslims. In the light of all this information coming to hand, clearly it is not good enough for the Prime Minister to simply verbalise, offering platitudes.
The agenda
I wrote last August an article titled "Many a little makes a mickle." highlighting the accumulation of many little things leads to one big thing. That's what's happening in Europe today. It could happen in Australia.
The BBC picked up a story from Switzerland where there was a strategy in place by Muslim school students of incrementation. The challenges of the Muslims within Europe to the laws and customs of the indigenes (Nation States, ie France, Germany, Belgium ...) have no logical end - and will not stop. And the greater the number of Muslims allowed to settle in Europe, the stronger and more frequent their challenges will be.
They are attempting not to integrate, but rather to create, for now, a second, parallel society, and eventually, through sheer force of numbers from both migration and by outbreeding the Infidels, to fashion not a parallel society but one society — and that dominated by Muslim [sharia]. Then comes along President Donald Trump! And what an uproar from the lefties and elitists.
National identity's social cohesion are like school buses
Philosophically understood
Now we find Australian public schools are allowing Muslim students an exemption from shaking the hands of female teachers or being excused from the national anthem. There was uproar in Switzerland too over this and this is how The Swiss dealt with it. Many Swiss were enraged at the original exemption granted by a school to Muslim boys – they were not required to shake the hand of the woman teacher. This exemption was overturned by the local Educational Department.
The Swiss understood quite clearly that this was more than a little quarrel over handshakes; it was a fight over whether the Swiss would be masters in their own house, or whether they would be forced to yield, by the granting of special treatment, to the Islamic view of the proper relations between the sexes.
That, of course, was never the "intent" of the long-standing handshaking custom, which was a nearly-universal custom in Switzerland, and in schools had to do only with encouraging the right classroom atmosphere of mutual respect between instructor and pupil, of which the handshake was one aspect. The Swiss formulation of the problem – weighing competing claims — will be familiar to, say Australians well versed in the High Court's Constitutional adjudications.
National identity's social cohesion are like clearly marked railway sign
Intergrate?
Now we read in The Australian recently by Dr Jennifer Oriel her article titled “Let's reflect on Muslim nation's Christian genocide' where chapter and verse is given where our left leaning politicians simply ignore this.
The challenges of the Muslims within Europe to the laws and customs of the indigenes have no logical end and will not stop. And the greater the number of Muslims allowed to settle in Europe, the stronger and more frequent their challenges will be.
They are attempting not to integrate, but rather to create, for now, a second, parallel society, and eventually, through sheer force of numbers from both migration and by out-breeding the Infidels, to fashion not a parallel society but one society — then dominated by Muslim [sharia].
That old Scottish saying that in one variant reads: "Many a little makes a mickle" illustrates incrementation to a tee. That is, the accumulation of many little things leads to one big thing. That's what's happening in Europe today. Australia must be eternally vigilant in this same area.
Christians in Australia are at the forefront of this and many are very quietly working away in this arena without fanfare or fuss. I am constantly being sent online stories of Muslims becoming followers of Jesus, many being baptised. This is our calling and with rejoicing without letting up on those areas for which we have a voice.
National identity's social cohesion are like clearly marked Stop signs
Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (retired) who served as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and established Life After Cricket in 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He mentors young writers and has written 24 books, and enjoys writing. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children.
Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at