Why should Muslim?

This is about one of the hot issues in Australia today. John Howard said that a small group of Muslim migrants have refused to embrace Australian values and he asked them to learn English and treat women equally.

Here is what he said...

“There is a section, a small section of the Islamic population, and I say a small section ... which is very resistant to integration…Fully integrating means accepting Australian values, it means learning as rapidly as you can the English language if you don't already speak it…And it means understanding that in certain areas, such as the equality of men and women ... people who come from societies where women are treated in an inferior fashion have got to learn very quickly that that is not the case in Australia.”

How do you respond to the statement?

Although I am not a migrant, I am sorry to say I am annoyed. It is fine for Mr. Howard to encourage all Australian people to integrate in “Australian values”. This is his right and this might be part of his obligation as the Prime Minister.

But why should he single out Muslims regarding the issue? What about other migrant groups? What does he mean by Australian values? Does it mean European values, so that migrants should learn English? What about aboriginal and Torrens strait? Are their values and languages not Australian values? If yes, does it mean that the migrants should also learn Aboriginal and Torrens strait languages?

To me, Mr. Howard should not point out Muslims, or even “a small section of Islamic population”. Firstly, this is unfair because many other migrant groups such as Chinese or Italian migrants may deal with the same problem of “cultural and language assimilation”. Secondly, it just implies that Mr. Howard has consciously or unconsciously discriminated against Australian Muslim citizens.

If we refer to Mullaly’s theory of oppression, such a statement indicates nothing but a cultural oppression against Muslims. It is regretted partly because Australia has been famous for its multiculturalism and pluralism, which is one of the reasons why I am studying here now.

I believe there are still many other ways to encourage Australian people to integrate in “Australian values”. There is much more neutral expression to do so without insulting or oppressing certain groups of people. I am sure, if the government can take such ways, they can benefit much from the heterogeneity of Australian citizens, for the future of their country.