I drove into Gladstone this morning (it is 20 minutes drive from Tannum Sands in Central Queensland) and met friends for coffee on Gondoon Street. I saw a Muslim woman walk by, completely covered except for her face. They’re not uncommon around town.
This is not how things were 30 years in Gladstone. Muslims were unknown. Today they walk around in Muslim regalia practicing Islam without interference or comment. Only the old folks will look at them a bit strange and ask you quietly, “What do you think of that?”
I’ve not heard a negative comment about the presence of Muslims in Gladstone, who have their own gathering site near where my late grandparents live. Nobody thinks there is any contradiction between Islam and the West.
An American Jew might say to a white Australian, “You know Islam stands for complete conquest of the world, through violence, and universal submission to Sharia (Islamic law)?”
The white Australian might reply: “Jews are the same way. They dominate parts of Melbourne.”
You won’t see any flaming homos in the Gladstone area. That wouldn’t fly. If you want to lead a gay life, you have to move. Other than that, multi-culturalism is alive and well in regional Australia.
Islam is booming down under. According to Wikipedia: “Islam in Australia is a minority religious group. According to the 2011 census, 476,291 people, or 2.2%[1] of the total Australian population were Muslims. This made Islam the fourth largest religious grouping, after all forms of Christianity (64%), no religion (22.9%) and Buddhism (2.5%). Demographers attribute Muslim community growth trends during the most recent census period to relatively high birth rates, and recent immigration patterns.”
