The protest turns ugly !

Protests against the plan to create an Islamic school catering for 1200 students in Camden turned ugly when someone staked two pig's heads bracketing the Australian flag on the site.

The Community Relations Commission ( CRC ) labelled it " a display of hatred ".

Camden is a peaceful, rural village and the plan to establish a major school in Cawdor road has inflamed residents. Most cherish it's peaceful isolation and fear that if the school goes ahead their little piece of heaven will never again be the same.

For some, the objection is the Islamic nature of the school. They fear that a school with that many pupils will need a faculty staff and other crew running into the hundreds - and there is a certainty that many will seek to live in close proximity. That raises the prospect of Camden eventually becoming an Islamic community - similar to the Islamic enclaves at Punchbowl and Greenacre in Sydney.

Then there is the fear by some uninformed people that this school will simply devolve into a " madrassah " - the Islamic schools run by militants in Indonesia, Pakistan and many other Muslim countries.
These " schools " are not seats of learning. Pupils are subjected to nothing else but the endless reciting of the Koran and instruction in hatred for all not of their faith. Their sole purpose is to recruit and train " holy warriors " for the conquest of the world.

There would certainly be objections from some if the proposed school was linked to the Catholic or Anglican churches, but the Islamic " label " intensifies opposition. One of the problems is that Muslims look different from other Australians. Their code of dress - and in some cases the burqua - set them apart and even moderate Muslims women can be identified by the head scarf.

Other nationalities have blended into the Australian scene after a period but in almost every case they have adopted the Australian mode of attire and way of life. The exception would be Indian women - some of whom still favour the Sari. Other religions do not stand out in public like the followers of Islam.

Having schools associated with religion is an established Australian way - and those schools attract financial help from the government. There is no question that Muslims are entitled to establish similar schools - the only sticking point is - where !

Eventually the Camden question will be resolved, but not everyone will be happy.
If the school is not located there - it will be somewhere else - and that will provoke a whole new protest movement.

Pity the person or department that has to make that decision !