One of the most important roles of government is to defend our nation. There are internal and external threats that must be neutralised or mitigated to protect us all. Perhaps the most potent threat are the Islamic extremists at work here and abroad to attack our culture, undermine our values and destroy our way of life.
They justify using terrorism and violence by the words and deeds of their ideological founder Mohammad. He preached a peaceful version of his tenets in Mecca without success. Later, he moved to Medina where Islam spread through violence and intimidation.
These two periods account for the ‘duality of Islam’ – where peaceful verses are countered by later advocacy of intolerance and brutality. Under the principle of abrogation, where two instructions to followers contradict each other, the latter order must prevail.
It is from this historical context that the nutcases from ISIS, Hizb-ut-Tahrir and many other extremists groups draw their inspiration and justify their crazed actions.
It is estimated that around 200 Australian citizens left our shores to fight with ISIS. These people removed themselves from Australia’s protection by choosing to side with Australia’s enemy. In some instances they took their families with them to live under the new Islamic caliphate.
Any person who chose that path is part of the problem. Only Islamic fundamentalists would willingly enter into any sort of compact or living arrangement under ISIS. Thankfully many of them were killed and will trouble us no longer. However those that remain are a real and continuing threat to our national interest.
That’s why I found it astounding that the Australian government actively supported the repatriation of the wife and child of one of these ISIS thugs. After signing up to the tenets of Islamic State she is now loose in our community and I’d wager, living off the taxpayers thanks to our overly generous welfare system.
This story is truly alarming. The woman joined her husband to live under the Islamic caliphate. When he was killed and ISIS defeated, Australia seemed like a better place to be. The story goes that she paid a people smuggler to get her and her child to a third country where she requested support from Australian agencies to get her back to Australia.
Now, there is no absolute right for travel documents to be issued to any citizen but our authorities determined to assist this bride of ISIS in obtaining one. Newspaper reports suggested that an assessment of risk was done and the woman was given the all clear.
This seems plain crazy to me. Here we have a woman, committed to the Islamic fundamentalist ideology, being helped to return to Australia. I can guess that some readers will be saying that she was ‘probably’ forced to go with her husband but I’d also guess that these same excusers would deny that any coercion goes on when women wear the flag of Islamic fundamentalism – the burqa.
Let me put this as plainly as I can. I don’t want Islamic fundamentalists in our country and I do not think that our government should provide them any assistance when their plans to support ISIS (and their ilk) don’t work out.
This woman has sided with our enemies. It’s not good enough for her to repent and not be accountable for her actions. If she is to be in this country then she should be in jail. Her child should be spared being indoctrinated with poisonous ideology and instead raised by people that will reflect and uphold the values and customs that have made our nation the greatest place on earth.
Cory Bernardi is the author of seven books and has been a member of the Australian rowing team, a publican, an investment portfolio manager and spent nearly 14 years as an Australian Senator.
