Australia has been meticulous in its doctrine of separating state from religion. There was friction between Protestants and Catholics in the early days but the authorities made it clear that there was no state religion and all settlers were free to follow the religion of their choice. This has been enshrined in law and today most of the world's religions are practiced in this country.
There is a wise maxim that has its origin in the sands of the Middle East. " The enemy of my enemy is my friend " ! It encompasses the changing loyalties when the tribes making warfare against one another seek alliances that run against tradition.
This pearl of wisdom is now influencing our crime fraternity and it is religion that is both threatening harm to this country and at the same time providing a shield to prevent attacks. In its early days the great religion of Islam suffered schism. There came a parting of the ways and Islam divided into those called " Sunni " and those called " Shi'a " !
It is the Sunni branch of Islam that has attracted followers of a new caliphate that has declared war on the western world. It has fielded an army in Syria and Iraq under the black flag of Islamic State and it recruits followers in western regimes with orders to slay those that is terms " infidels ". Its aim is to bring terror to western cities.
Australia has strict gun laws. Despite this, there is a flourishing gun trade and we have almost daily street killings that involves criminal gangs eliminating competitors. Fortunately, this gun culture seems mainly restricted to bikie gangs and Middle East crime syndicates who deal in drugs, and it seems that these are mostly followers of Shi'a Islam.
Our Shi'a criminal brethren show revulsion to the pointless killing that is a hallmark of Islamic State. Radicalized young men seeking to buy guns to carry out IS orders are turned away and in many instances discreetly brought to the attention of the security authorities. It seems that " the enemy of our enemy " is helpful in refusing to profit by arming radicals.
It seems that we are fortunate that in our criminal fraternity the followers of Shi'a Islam predominate. They have very good reason to regard Islamic State as their enemy. Sunni followers regard the Shi'a as infidels and where IS has captured territory it has killed Shi'a prisoners - usually by beheading. There is no affinity between these two followings of Islam.
This is to our advantage in the war being waged against Islamic State. The great masses of both Sunni and Shi'a living in Australia are not militants but they have their ear to the ground and things are apparent to them than non Muslim Australians would certainly miss. In the past they have chosen not to get involved and some have incorrectly interpreted this as partisan support for the terrorists.
That maxim that " the enemy of my enemy is my friend " is certainly a truism ! During the second world war Italy was part of the Fascist Axis and yet when the invasion of Sicily was planned the Americans had no hesitation in sitting down with the Mafia in New York and enlisting their aid. As a result, on the eve of the invasion massive sabotage of facilities and breakdowns in communications harassed the defence - and saved many of the invaders lives.
A similar mixing of interests is evident where Islamic State is concerned. We would be unwise to turn away on the grounds that this help is being offered by criminals. Cooperation between erstwhile enemies to achieve a common good - is as old as this earth itself !
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