An Option for Islamic State Fighters !

Brunei - to  Australia's north - is a tiny country with just over 400,000 people and the Sultan who rules it has just implemented full Sharia law.   It is also an incredibly rich country because of the oil beneath its land and as its people are predominantly Muslim it is their right to live under the law that prevails for that religion.

Unfortunately, Sharia in its full form is repugnant to most Australians because it runs counter to many of the freedoms we hold dear. This new penal code in Brunei will now deliver death by stoning for anal sex, heterosexual extra marital sex, and abortion.  Lesbian sex can be punished by the application of a hundred lashes.  Children who have reached puberty can be tried as adults and receive this same punishment.

Punishment for crime is also severe under Sharia law.  People convicted of theft can have limbs amputated and it is a crime for sex to occur between a Muslim and a non-Muslim, even if they are legally married.  Merchants can be prosecuted for selling food, drinks or cigarettes during the hours of Ramadan.

The imposition of this strict form of Sharia law was the aim of Islamic State when it rampaged through Syria and Iraq.  Executions were publicly performed and all other forms of religious belief was ignored.  Their captives led a life of misery and it was greeted with great relief when mainly Kurdish forces gained control and defeated this religious oppression.

Now we are hearing  entreaties from both Islamic State fighters who abandoned their Australian citizenship to join Islamic State and Australian women who fled this country to offer themselves as Islamic wives.  They - and their young children - demand to be repatriated to Australia as an act of mercy despite retaining their Islamic State views and allegiance to IS aims.

We simply don't want them back in our society and it seems that Brunei is now offering the type of life they were willing to impose on people who came under their control.  They illegally forced their way into Syria and Iraq with domination in mind and it seems quite reasonable to expect that now they should aim to live in Brunei under the penal code that they favour so greatly.

Of course Brunei may not welcome dissidents who wish to form some sort of Caliphate on their soil but neither did Syria or Iraq offer such a welcome.   Islamic State arrived as invaders and now they are defeated they have become homeless people.  Clearly it is the view of many here that they have forfeited their right to claim Australian citizenship when they went to war against the obligations imposed on those who claim the right to belong to this country.

Of course, we may probably see citizens of Brunei looking to migrate to Australia because of opposition to Sharia law.  Many Muslims are devout to Islam but intolerant to the extremity of Sharia law and simply refuse to live in a country where Sharia is paramount.  One of the attractions of Australia is our acceptance of all religions and the right to religious freedom.

Those men and women who have embraced Islamic State - and their unfortunate children - have refused that religious freedom to others and that is the reason they should not be allowed to return to this country.