From The Stringer
It doesn't take much!
by Suresh Rajan
July 2nd, 2013
Every now and then I am surprised at the level of racist abuse and tirades that emanate from our
community. Today was a very significant day for the Australian Parliament and multiculturalism in
general. Ed Husic is a new Parliamentary Secretary in the reborn Kevin Rudd government. He
took his oath with the Governor General, Her Excellency, Ms Quentin Bryce on Monday 1 July
2013. What was significant was that Ed Husic is the first person of Muslim faith to be elected to
any Australian parliament. What was probably even more significant was that Mr Husic chose to
swear his allegiances to the Australian Parliament on the Koran.
The reaction to this matter has been swift and vitriolic. His Facebook page fast became a venue
for comments from the racist element of Australian society. There were comments as follows:
Marilyn Kulpinski Quran (8:12) - "I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve.
Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them" Ah, yes, Islam - The Relgion
(sic) of Peace
Stephen Lawson Allah himself urges Muslims to 'strike terror into the heart of the infidels' [8:12].
Ned Edward Kelly Why is it because you are Muslim you are allowed to step outside of what the
Constitution states is to be used for the swearing in process and use the Koran , no other political
person in our history , That i am aware of ,has done this , just curious as to what makes you so
special ?
We can take some heart from the fact that the overwhelming majority of people posting on Ed
Husic's Facebook page were supportive of the process he undertook. This may of course be
purely because the majority of people posting on his facebook page would be his "Friends" or
"Likes" anyway.
What must be said is that it is obvious that there is a lot to be done to win the hearts and minds of
Australians to the basic tenets of multiculturalism. There is much work for advocates.
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