For many years, Pauline Hanson has been warning about the danger of allowing unchecked immigration from predominantly Muslim countries where the population has been exposed to fundamentalist Islamic ideology completely out of step with Australian values of democracy, freedom and separation of church and state.
In her first speech upon her return to Parliament in 2016, Pauline said ‘political’ Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism was being imported to Australia by the major parties too paralysed by woke accusations of ‘islamaphobia’ to restrict or ban immigration from such places.
She also noted Australia was actually exporting Islamic terrorists, and it was true. It was when some Australian citizens travelled to Iraq to join the barbaric Islamic State, or ISIS. Pictures of an Australian child holding a severed head with his terrorist father shamed the nation and horrified the civilised world.
In Australia, there are still radical Islamic preachers calling for ‘jihad’ against Australia and the West, for the genocide of Jews and the destruction of Israel. Due to the Prime Minister’s frailty and ambiguity regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict, they are able to get away with it.
And thanks again to Albo’s weakness, a group calling itself ‘Muslim Vote’ has this week emerged to target seats in western Sydney with high Muslim populations, held by senior Labor figures like Tony Burke and Jason Clare. Their initial goal is to force Labor to back the Palestinian cause.
We can all agree it’s unlikely to stop there. Fatima Payman, the 29-year-old hijab-wearing Labor senator from Western Australia – has embarrassed Albo by crossing the floor (traditionally an offence that results in expulsion from the ALP) in support of recognising the non-existent state of Palestine. She’s quit Labor to be an independent, is now talking to infamous ‘preference whisperer’ Glenn Druery and there’s a lot of speculation she’ll be invited to join this ‘Muslim Vote’ group.
Minor political parties have been formed around religion in Australia before. They’ve all been Christian, like Family First, and never particularly successful at the ballot box. They’ve generally stood on a foundation of conservative values many Australians share.
However with 813,000 Muslims now calling Australia home, and Labor hopelessly compromised on religious freedom and the Middle East conflict, we’re now starting to see Muslims exercise political influence.
This influence could not have been brought to bear had Australia’s major parties listened to Pauline’s warnings. But here we are, and it doesn’t bode well for our nation’s future.