Slippery Slope: Sharia finance to Sharia-Sharia

"Slippery Slope" by Tim Allen

Sometimes the slope really is slippery.

The issue is “does allowing Sharia finance in Australia lead to the call for more Sharia”? 

The answer is clearly “yes”, given the clear call for Sharia from the peak Muslim body in Australia, the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC), a call which is tied specifically to the change of Australian tax law to facilitate Sharia finance.

But the government says “no” – see the letter from Assistant Treasurer, Bill Shorten, to me, which I posted here. This is clearly head-in-the-sand stuff; willful ignorance by our senior politicians. Fortunately not all are as dhimmi as Shorten; the Attorney-General, Robert MacClelland, "stomped on the request", says the Sydney Morning Herald.

Given the hullaballoo over this call by AFIC’s President Ikebal Patel, reported here, (and on which virtually all comments were negative) I’d better get some comments down on the Shorten letter, before it’s too late…
The first comments below are from reader and mid-east based Islamic finance expert, DC, and I thank him for them.  If he would like more recognition, I’d be happy to do so, but for the moment he needs to remain anonymous for work reasons:

Of course Islamic finance will comply with Australian laws and regulations when we change them to suit Islamic finance!  It wont facilitate the introduction of sharia law?  

But this is the introduction of some sharia law!  They can't deny anyone's religious practice?  Including jihad? and the funding of jihad through Islamic finance? Seems so? Sharia law is not religion, it is law!

And, next day he added:

….Of course it's …about the big end of town. We've always been a net importer of capital and as there's not so much cheap money now from the US, no real development of the Aussie bond market from Super funds as often touted and basically so much demand for capital to fund infrastructure and other projects, they're getting that money. But we're also getting Sharia as the price and the Gov't has still caved to Sharia. 

It makes no sense to say there's no precedent set.  There's a big precedent here, obviously not in a strict legal sense, but once they start caving into Sharia law compliance demands, the train's in motion and it will be harder to refuse next time.  We all know how encroachment works, "thin edge of the wedge", the "boiled frog" and all that... 

 He hasn't even bothered to address any of the other key concerns, the Islamic charity donations and the jihadi Sharia advisers. 

 It would be good if there is some way of getting back to him, at least to point out the idiocy of him saying "they must comply with Aussie laws and regs" when they don't, we are complying with their Sharia law.

I add: Assistant Treasurer, Bill Shorten says [see the letter, referred to above] that:

“… the offering of Islamic financial products in Australia would not be setting a precedent and would not facilitate the introduction of Sharia law into the Australian legal system nor lead to the creation of a parallel legal system.”

But this is exactly what’s happened.

See this statement from AFIC in its submission to the recent multiculturalism enquiry:

"Is it true that Australia will never consider Islamic law? It seems that in two areas namely Islamic finance and Halal food, Australian Government has been actively involved.
"Halal certificate is a written fatwa and by co-signing the Halal certificate, it indicates that the Australian Government has been already involved in Sharia matters." [my emphasis]

As Miranda Devine says:

"So there you have it in black and white: Australia has to change its fundamental laws and values to accommodate a pushy minority.
"No other group of migrants has made such demands."

Related:
Sharia applied secretly in Sydney. [Tele, May 18].  But not too secretly, for…

Sharia already in Sydney, say Muslim leaders.  [the Oz, May 18] Gee, that’s great.  We can go back to sleep, then.