Australia, like all other modern, western nations, is supposedly a secular democracy. What that means is that people are protected by our Constitution to enjoy freedom of religion. They can believe in whatever they want, including the flying spaghetti monster, who wears the holy colander. Being a secular democracy also means that we have universal freedom from religion. Our governments are not supposed to formulate policies based on religious doctrines and agendas and religious groups and organizations should not be treated preferentially. That part still seems to present a problem to our and other western governments unfortunately.

I am not a religious person and I absolutely believe that secularism is the only way forward for civilized societies. I most certainly have a problem with people who first and foremost identify themselves through their religion and seek to claim special treatment and exemptions on that basis.

Islam is as interesting to me as all other religions - i.e. not at all. I am well traveled and know that the best countries in the world are those that diligently uphold secularism and where the majority of citizens do not identify with any kind of religion. The worst countries haven't managed to evolve. There religion is still integral to politics and every aspect of peoples' lives.

Like the other two Abrahamic religions, Islam borrows heavily from ancient religions and tries to pass others' intellectual insights and achievements off as its own. It most certainly doesn't encourage its followers to think intelligently, critically and independently, but demands total submission and obedience. The overt practice of those three skills in an Islamic country and in public, will likely get one killed. Churchill summed up Islam very well and Christopher Hitchens has given us food for thought on Islam as well as all other religions. Both can be researched on the net easily.

I am all for everyone's religious freedom, just keep it to yourselves please, all of it. Thank you.

So whats the question?

valleyboy wrote on Dec 1^st, 2014 at 11:45pm:


An extremely ill-thought out statement - The Soviet Union, the entire Eastern Block, North Korea, Baathist Iraq and Syria - just a sample of the many thoroughly corrupt, brutal, anti-freedom regimes in the last 50 years - and every one of them either atheist or irreligious.

polite_gandalf wrote on Dec 2^nd, 2014 at 3:25pm:



Every one of them atheist or irreligious?  Really?  Must be a parallel universe thing.

freediver wrote on Dec 2^nd, 2014 at 6:37pm:


Sure, a country that has a majority of muslims is a muslim country. Plenty of them.

Baathist Iraq was a muslim country - I never said it wasn't.

Having an irreligious regime doesn't stop a muslim country being a muslim country.

Have there been any 'Muslim regimes' during this period Gandalf? Or were they all western puppets?

polite_gandalf wrote on Dec 2^nd, 2014 at 7:11pm:


So the correction is Baathist Iraq and Baathist Syria?

Putting pedanticism aside,  and since the majority of these regimes no longer exist, I think the poster is under some misconception that a chunk of Middle Eastern countries were under Sharia Law, when they were in fact secular.  Probably a result of Western propaganda -- war on terror and all that guff -- so the US and its allies could put boots on the ground to crush the mythical threat of Islam -- for monetary gain.