August 26, 2008
Dangerous Ground
Watch the program: Part 1 Part 2

We set out to do this story after hearing anecdotal accounts of a rising sense of alienation and resentment among young Australian Muslim men, a result of the fallout from September 11 and the Bali bombings, and the subsequent "war on terror."

Their typical experience is being yelled at in the street: "Go back to where you came from. We don't want you here."

But the fact is 40 percent of Australian Muslims were born here. They have nowhere else to go.

I felt this story was important, not just because everyone deserves to feel at home in the country of their birth, but because I know from my own research on terrorism that alienation is a key factor in the evolution of disillusioned individuals toward terrorism.

The first obstacle we faced in making the program was getting anyone to talk to us. Muslim groups and communities are deeply suspicious and resentful toward the media, which they feel has stigmatised them.

Many groups and individuals we approached refused to co-operate, out of (an often legitimate) fear that they would be typecast as "the bad guys" or potential terrorists.

Thankfully some of them decided it was worth taking the risk, in order to have their say.

Another difficulty was distilling the historic and political complexities of the current global Islamist insurgency into a 45-minute television program. We think the results are revealing and disturbing.

-- From reporter Sally Neighbour
Good that some muslims agreed to be interviwed. I think that the Austrialian community should do something about this. The muslims should be let to socialize freely in their own place of birth. Anything otherwise could spring up terrorism.
messed up racism.. u dont even give them a chance to excel in society...no wonder so many muslims become terrorists.. i just saw the show and I would have never imagined something like this to happen in Australia.. amazing..but sad.. hope people change their attitudes and stop generalizing people..
Maybe if they didn’t came from such radically different and imcompatible cultures they wouldn’t feel so alienated. I don’t know where their puzzling self righteousness comes from. What about a story about Islamicists who relate to their Christian host countries in ways that are diametrically opposed to the multicultural indulgence that they themselves receive.

"Go back to where you came from. We don't want you here." Funny, that’s the same thing white women hear when they venture in Islamic neighbourhoods. Any even handed report about the difficulties of integrating muslims in western societies should take into account the blatantly racist attacks on whites. Check out those crime rates.

“They have nowhere else to go”. Sure they do. Unlike whites, they are always welcome in the lands of their ancestors based on their kinship. This is one of the aspects of multiculturalism, the total lack of reciprocity. In fact, in Europe many well to do immigrants do return to their ancestral lands in order to escape the western tax rates that are necessary to sustain the welfare states.

“I felt this story was important”. Typical modern feminised CNN-cant: feelings are more important than facts.

“everyone deserves to feel at home in the country of their birth”. How about the natives? They are becoming a despised minority in many of their cities, in their own countries(!).

“I know from my own research on terrorism that alienation is a key factor in the evolution of disillusioned individuals toward terrorism.” Really? Research? Like, Fow weal! This is just a funny way of saying that it is our fault that muslims commit terrorism. After we let them in, gave them jobs, free health care, education, etc. etc. My impression of terrorists is that they are far from depressed apathics. They seem to be quite dedicated, motivated and optimistic.

“Muslim groups and communities are deeply suspicious and resentful toward the media, which they feel has stigmatised them.” Every one at CNN knows it is a lot safer to stigmatize whites as a bunch of racists.

“Many groups and individuals we approached refused to co-operate, out of (an often legitimate) fear that they would be typecast as "the bad guys"”. When there is friction between whites and tiny minorities, everyone knows who the designated “bad guys” are.

“Thankfully some of them decided it was worth taking the risk, in order to have their say.” What risk! Any report of CNN of this type will always be about poor-ali-in-the-land-of-cruel-palefaces.

“Another difficulty was distilling the historic and political complexities of the current global Islamist insurgency into a 45-minute television program.” How about distilling the historic and political complexities of integrating people from radical different cultures in a western society. The byline of this program is: paranoia or plain ol’ racism. In other words, it is all the fault of intolerant white people, how complex is that.
This 'muslim' issue should be taken up by strong institutions like the 'government' or CNN or BBC.
Glad it is now handled by CNN.
Suicide bombings in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere too, makes me distrust the 'muslims' though at inner heart I feel they too are of our human system and deserve better treatment.
But am afraid to trust them as their behaviour is total non-acceptance of other's ways of life.
Cases in point are, the treatment of Palestinian Journalist by Security Forces of the Jews; totally outrageous.
And, handing over of 'dead' soldiers by Hamas in exchange for 'hard core' murderous-activists.
The 'muslims' bring it upon themselves.
It is sad indeed.
Excellent report Sally. I was born in Sydney, raised in the affluent eastern suburbs, private schooling (catholic, although I am atheist personally), parents immigrated from Iran. I can't speak persian, only english. Seriously 100% Australian upbringing. It was not until about year 9 I could describe geographically even where Iran was (basically I know nothing about the country except what I have come to learn in the past few years since 9/11)...This is the only country I know and would die defending it. But I am not an Australian in the eyes of most in this country now in this post 9/11 world. But that's life. I am still thankful that I was born in this country and get to live here. All I have to think about is what my life could have been if my parents never left Iran, and I remember its a small price to pay. But it can be really tough when you live in an environment that causes you to question your identity. Tougher than I can put into words. But still I love this country and appreciate everything it has given me. I just wish the politics would be more reasoned and the media less trashy.

With regard to the muslims reported on in the story, I think its clear that this is not a good situation. One of the PHD folks from Monash crystalized it when he mentioned the overuse of hard power is causing alienation. But at the same token it's a lot to ask from any country's citizens to be so accepting of people who at least on the face of it look and act so differently. This problem is being exacerbated by the poor quality of Australian journalism .

WOW this is turning into a rant. I just wanted to say nice report! lol
I understand the whole victimization obsession this Network and it’s reports are constantly pounding but the utter lack of context and the deliberate intent to paint Australians as racists is utterly obvious. Most Australians were never consulted before their Government decided to start importing people in the name of multiculturalism and now with incidents in France, Britain, and Holland; can you blame them for their concerns? The Muslim communities do their best to alienate themselves with the way they conduct themselves. Would have been nice if you guys actually covered what was being said by Australia’s Muslim leaders, like referring to Australian women as meat etcetera. No, same old poor minority song and dance devoid of any context; really, can’t you guys at least try to give the appearance of objectivity, just once? No wonder you guys have absolutely no credibility.
If islamic doctrine didn't dictate that sharia law should be the base for any legal system, and if muslims didn't try their best to turn every country they set foot in into a province of a caliphate that would suit their religious beliefs at the expense of everyone else, the rest of the Australian population wouldn't feel the way they rightly do.

If someone wants to live under sharia law, there's plenty of room for them in Pakistan's tribal areas and in Saudi Arabia.
I don’t feel Muslims are some entity waiting to harm us but I must admit they do a very poor job assimilating into the Western countries they now flock to in mass. Western governments went wrong when they deliberately started to force people of completely different cultural backgrounds, forced mind you, to live together. Western citizens didn’t get to vote or even have a say. All because some academics got the bright idea that we could all hold hands in solidarity. Once hippies started wearing suits and making policy, these sorts of events were bound to happen. Even now with the troubles of assimilation apparent, these same bloody officials insist on importing more Muslims unwilling to assimilate in the name of a failed policy known as multiculturalism. The western populous is simply responding with a resounding “NO” to a vote they never got to cast. Islam and Christianity are more than religions; they are the backbones of their respective cultures in which they are practiced. They are also, completely opposite in their message. I am sorry their CNN, no one expects you guys to give a balanced message anymore but all you have done is exacerbate the problem with your usual victimization piece. You have Australia’s Muslim leaders saying hateful things and the Muslim community does what? Nothing, just demand polygamy and a separate Muslim justice system. Please explain to me how this isn’t divisive?
I was born and live in Australia and am of foreign descent (parents migrated from Europe), and I love Australia! Australia is a free country, a multicultural society, whose first immigrants came from England...... as far as I recall from my school days. When the English arrived Australia already had "natives" and they are the Aborigines, and how did and how do we treat them!!!! We all have to learn to appreciate this wonderfull country!
I am an Australian of mixed descent. I do understand the feeling of alienation when coming from a varied background. My mother is French and when I went to France for a few years to sample the culture, I found I had to endure discrimination on a grand scale; the half of me which is not French plus my foreign name were a real problem, it was impossible for me to get a decent job, despite being born French. In Australia on the other hand, I have never had this problem, quite the opposite, employers were always interested in the fact that I could speak many languages. I think as long as you integrate, accept the rule of law and get on with your life you will never get a fairer treatment than in Australia. Australians simply do not take kindly to getting pushed around by antiquated patriarchal cultures whose precepts hark back to the dark ages. Immigrants will get a fair treatment as long as they understand Australia is a society whose respect for the law stems from its English heritage. A respect which is so deep that in the name of justice vast tracts of land were returned to their indigenous owners. Which other country has done this? The Ainu in Japan, Quechua in Argentina Tibetans in Tibet, maybe?
Dear Sally thank you for your article about what muslims are facing in Australia. there is a lot of discrimination, ignorance,hidden racism and prejudiced innuendos against muslims who practice there faith w in western contries including Australia just because some muslims have commited a crime it does not mean that all muslims are criminals. the same can be said for the Black people just because some blak people have commitedf a crime it does not mean that all the black people in the world are criminals. One of the ways toi solve this problem is by the western countries to realize that they can not continue to talk about equality when they are trying to have imperealistic and colonialistic ideas controlling the resources of other countries through trade. United Nations which is dominated by the western countries and the World Bank are also part of the problem they do help but only when some of the western countries want to controll the Economic system of the so called Least developed contries which are rely on agriculture and they are never given equal opportunity and seat in the United Nations and the World Bank/IMF.one way to eliminate terrorism is by making trade equal and eiminate prejudice,ignorance and inequality.
George Mayo
I am totally shocked by the attitudes of some australians in this program they just showed how uneducated and bigoted they are. We all know what happened in history towards the aborigines does australia really want to go backwards again!
I just noticed another comment author saying that

"Go back to where you came from. We don't want you here." Funny, that’s the same thing white women hear when they venture in Islamic neighborhoods.

I have never or heard something happen like that if someone who has traveled to countries like Pakistan and other Arab countries they will know that people there are friendly and hospitable and welcome them to there homes !
I advocates basic human rights but i do believe muslim should be more vocal against their fellow muslim who commit terrorism n those who support terrorism financially. I believe only the muslim can eliminate the threat of the extreme fundamentalist not even the combine forces of the western countries. I do believe western countries are not anti muslim, because in all western countries, muslim are free to practice their religion.
I have just watched your show and i thought that it was really compelling. But as everybody says there is two sides of the story. Everyone has done something to alienate each other..it cannot be just one...I live in sweden and we have a lot if muslims which come from diff. muslim countries. More so than the US which has started all these brouhaha with war on terror. Do you know that we have one town in sweden which has accepted more immigrants from Iraq more than the whole country of USA? Unbelievable isnt it? I think every country has its problems with immigrants, they will always stay together as they feel safer..meanwhile alienating the host people as they feel like they have the plague or something.... and then it starts.....
this is only happening because people are narrow minded, just because one individual does something bad doesnt mean everyone is to blame ... if that is the case then would you have the same attitude against the germans?
learn to live and let live.
"Based on my watching of the excerpt, I don't have high hopes for an improvement between non-Muslim Australians and the Muslim community there. The larger problem, IMO, is the racist and xenophobic attitude of the Australian community. I've seen a lot of people argue that Muslims need to become more integrated into the local community, but when the larger community continues to build walls and shut doors in the faces of Muslims, I don't see how integration can be achieved. Non-Muslims need to realize that we're not going away, and that the problem is also theirs."

CNN: Dangerous Ground
Dangerous Ground/Moslem-Australians

A
The content of this documentary was lacking:

A Comparison of the Moslem-Australian community to other communities such as the Hindu and Buddhist communities who live in peace with fellow Australians is primordial for viewers and to understand the situation

Interviewing mainstream Moslem-Australians was also lacking and hence the discussion was lap-sided.

The Moslem community was asking the Australian Government to approve and finance a Moslem School, at a time when the Moslem community could have financed the school themselves through grants from the affluent oil countries, who are predominantly Moslem. The Australian Government does not finance Christian/Hindu/Buddhist public schools.

B
The documentary was inciting hatred and tarnishing the image of Australians as Moslem haters while in fact most of the Moslem community in Australia, which has grown into an a big force, refuses to get involved as peaceful Australians but rather as pure religious entity trying to change the surroundings.

Those young Moslem-Australians were born some 20-30 years ago from non-English speaking parents. The Australian Government offered those parents monthly salaries, English courses, education and health benefits. But those parents were not interested in learning English for they were living in a large community thriving as if in their home land. From Lakimba westward, Arabic was predominant, slowly the Australian identity of those suburbs was disappearing. Non-Moslem Australians in those suburbs became a minute minority and were living there as-if a Moslem country. Against this background and the events of September 11, came the incident at Cronola.

Those kids never spoke English at home. They don’t see the need to be an Aussie. They feel at home in their thriving communities and don’t see the need to get engaged. After September 11, they saw an opportunity to act alienated while going to Mosques to get instructions. They thought those naive Australians would do anything not to be labeled as Moslem bashers and they zeroed on to express their alienation.

All this was not discussed in the documentary. The documentary’s aim, appeared to me, was to show the plight of Moslem Youth, wile the Mosques are disseminating hatred only because Australia opened its doors and generosity to them. No other community was so ungrateful. But the real issue lies beyond those incidents it is in the Moslem psyche, which in my opinion has to get out from the Caliphate mentality in order to embrace the present day.

I feel the documentary is just a fag to make people tune-in. CNN may wish to be cautious as this is dangerous ground .
It is true terrorism is made not born. However the point is this- what makes a terrorist - due to choice and nothing else. So what makes the choice - upbring by the parents and largely by the Mullahs (muslim preachers) and the worst is there is no control over what is said in the mosque and also there is no action to stop the spread of muslim lies and what is said over the mosques by the Goverment.
In fact there should be a strong law to detain and arrest such silly and more silly mullahs and their dangerous incitments.
It is always these so call teachers of the muslim laws or their so called holy book which can be anything they (these dogs of wars) teachers want it to be. For instance, these Mullah can ask their followers to go and kill australians and they can find a cause in the so call holy book - koran- to find it as in all been said if the Book is holy it cannot be interpreted to kill to main to lie and to steal - How can any thing holy be that ???
So if these dogs of war comes round then it is possible for the Australian Goverment to put a STOP to their nonsense and stand up to their nonsense and not become another inablility to stop these nonsense teachers from coming into Australia just because they claim to be teachers. Teaching how to kill Children how to bomb - these are not teachers of anything good - just 'slam' then into the deportation jail and ship them out earliest lest they dirty the image of the clean australians.
I watched this show and it was great.

It always baffles me how quickly and conveniently people forget their past.

Whites are not the native people of Australia. The Aborigines are. They are not complaining about white immigration are they? In spite of the callous and heartless treatment meted on them by the white Aussies.

Now this same white people, (call them forced guests on the goodwill of the Aborigines) are the same ones who begrudge right of entry to non-white communities. They know its racism because they have no issues with Americans, Canadians coming to Australia.

I don't know why everywhere where the white community settles they suppress and annihiliate the local populations while closing the drawbridge behind them.

Look at Australia, USA, Canada, South Africa etc.
Does anyone else think George Bush started this "war on terror" just to progress his family's goal of global domination?
We always follow what is good for the Western world but in other parts of the world it is not feasible. They are entitled to their birth place and when they messed it up they will leave for their native countries/places. Am not a white but i think this is rediculus. Out of selfishness they brought about naturalisation and 99yrs leasehold of land which is now creating problems for us. At what age do you buy or sell land? how long would you live on this earth before dying? We have that problem where lessee's generations are refusing to return the land to the lessor's generations. Where they live have become so small that there is overpopulations and urban poverty among the natives. Think about it! Think about it!! Think about it!!!
In the arab world are other religions allowed to practice their faith openly like others allow them. Look at what they are doing in india to the native religion and you said what. Allow them and they will destroy your country and run back to their native countries.
These are not just muslims who go to "Whites' Lands" for work, but hundreds of thousands of 'Whites' also come to Muslim countries to find much better paid work, health benefits and above all they get all of this Tax Free.
If a Muslim from, say, Dubai goes to work in Australia, he/she will be bombarded with huge taxes against his hard earned salary. In return, he/she will receive some public benefits, but will also receive local hatred and alienation.
On the other hand if an Australian goes to work in ,say, Saudi Arabia, he/she will get a good salary, Full Health and Social Security cover plus other benefits, and All that for absolutely no Tax.

Places like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and even islamabad are flocked with Australians, Brits and Americans, eurpeans and canadians - not only whites, but also blacks. They all happily live in local posh neighbourhoods and Local muslims don't show any resentment to them, Muslims never ask them to 'buzz off' and leave their lands. They don't show such a biased behaviour towards whites.

Its just that some people leaving comments in this blog are so much filled with undue hatred and 'superiority complex' against Muslims that they try their best to humiliate them with whatever they have.
Everbody talks about terrorism by Muslims, but no one mentioned the state sponsored terrorism by Pres. Bush and his neo-conservative extremist Cronies, who have so far killed 1+ million muslims in iraq (for oil) and Afghanistan (for regional dominance). Is this not another Holocaust?
I hear a lot of people bring up the argument about white Australians not being the original occupants of their country. But if you look back in history Islam wasn't always native to some of the countries that it now occupies.

Countries have invaded countries for centuries and not one has been a peaceful take over where no one get hurt. Almost every country is guilty of it so how bout you deal with the issues of now instead of bring up a past which no one today is responsible for.
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People are people. who decides which 'colour' is the most almighty???????? ignorance and an unwillingness to explore unfamiliar cultures is what decides.
Australia is a multicultural country; hence everyone has their right to their religion and beliefs.
But no one has a right to impose their beliefs onto others!

If Australians particularly from a foreign background respected this there would be less problems.
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