Australian Liberty Alliance (ALA) candidate Ron Pike says the time is right for Australians to have a conversation about the threat of radical Islam.
The party’s published policy document states Islam “is not merely a religion, it is a totalitarian ideology with global aspirations” and proposes a 10-year ban on Muslims from most Islamic nations coming to live in Australia.
“The growth of radical Islam is totally incompatible with a free, tolerant, peace-loving democracy and that is what we’re against,” Mr Pike said.
“What we’re saying is let’s pause this while we have a mature discussion. It could be in a few years time we say all of this is fine but at the moment that’s where a very large proportion of our immigrants are coming from.”
Mr Pike said the ALA had no problem with Muslims in general, but a discussion about the threat of radical Islam needed to be had.
“How many people have been arrested by federal and state police in the past few years for planning serious terror attacks in Australia?” Mr Pike asked.
“They’re not Sikhs, Presbyterians, atheists, Anglicans or Buddhists, every single one is an Islamist. We have no problem with peace-loving Muslims who fit into our society just fine but the spread of radical Islam is happening and we want to stop it before it gets worse.”
Terror attacks in France and Belgium originating from Islamist “enclaves” were a huge concern for the party.
“Have a look at what’s happened in Europe where you’ve got whole enclaves now totally subservient to sharia,” he said.
“There are places in Britain where police can’t go, you get separate development of communities and that’s not the future I want for Australia.”
According to Mr Pike, the major political parties showed a lack of leadership on the issue, preferring political correctness to tackling the problem.
“It’s time for Australia to have this discussion because radical Islam is raring its ugly head right across western democracies all over the place and we do not want that situation to continue in Australia,” he said.
“Leaders seem to be hiding behind a veil of political correctness that says you can’t speak out and recognise that this is a problem and what we’re saying is it is a potential problem and we believe the time to have that discussion in the Australian community is right now.”
Stephen Mudd
Stephen Mudd is a journalist for Fairfax Media west of the great divide. He loves music, dogs and travel.
Stephen Mudd is a journalist for Fairfax Media west of the great divide. He loves music, dogs and travel.
