Inequality+Based+Upon+Different+Belief+Systems+and+Cultural+Practices

  ·  Multiculturalism has meant an infusion of beliefs and cultural practices into Australia. This is illustrated by the appearance of religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam as the fastest growing belief systems in the country.  ·  Temples and mosques have appeared not only in capital cities, but in regional areas as well. Nan Tien Temple< Wollongong  ·  Australia today is a fusion of belief systems and cultural practices. For some this social and cultural change is a threat, departing from a view of Australia characterised by close links to Great Britain as the ‘mother country’, men at work and women at home and a Christian country where everything closed on a Sunday.  ·  Historians argue about whether this type of Australia ever really existed, but the perception is very real, and helps explain the sense of unease about change the __One Nation Party__ was able to tap into for support.  __The challenge: __  ·  Accepting the widespread existence of different belief systems and cultural practices is one of the challenges facing Australia in the twenty-first century. An example of the outcomes faced by some who follow belief systems outside what had previously been the social norm was seen in the treatment of the Muslims in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. There were ongoing attacks on mosques in Australia, including the burning of one in Brisbane. Camden Islamic School  ·  ‘Scared that we are all terrorists, and they are angry at us. Society has forced us to live in a cage’ this was spoken by a mother of two, Australian born, but a convert to Islam. She complained as she was forced to the floor at gunpoint by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) during a home raid.
 * __Inequality based on different belief systems and cultural practices __**

Planners say no to Muslim school A Muslim society's plans to build a school in Camden have been dealt a severe blow after the local council's planners today recommended against the development on planning grounds. The Qu'uranic Society Dar Tahfez El-Quran had lodged plans with Camden Council to build a 1200-pupil school at Burragorang Road, Cawdor but drew angry protests from a group called the Committee for Public Affairs Education. The //Herald// revealed the group was organised by members of Reverend Fred Nile's Christian Democratic Party. Camden Council will meet on Tuesday to decide if the Society's school plans can proceed but council business papers put online today reveal the planning staff have advised against it. The development would generate unacceptable levels of traffic and does not comply with local planning rules for building work, the planning staff said. "The development will also compromise important cultural, agricultural and heritage views and vistas of the Camden Floodplain," the council report said, adding that the building would diminish the availability of local grazing land. "The applicant has also failed to demonstrate the site is free of contamination and therefore council cannot be satisfied that there will not be a risk to student's health," the report found. While the proposed school was to have catered to both Muslim and non-Muslim children, the council noted that "there has been considerable community concern that the proposed development will either directly or indirectly result in a change to the cultural composition of Camden." However, Camden Mayor Chris Patterson said this development application had nothing to do with religion. "I have said all along that this is an issue that's not a religious issue, it's not an nationalistic issue. It's an issue to be based on planning," he said. "We have professional staff who will do their report based on the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act and I have every faith that our officers have had no influence from councillors. It's now up to the councillors to take in the report and make a decision on Tuesday evening." The spokesman for the Qu'uranic Society Dar Tahfez El-Quran, Jeremy Bingham, is currently overseas and was out of contact.
 * Sunanda Creagh is the Herald's Urban Affairs Reporter**