Half of Australia’s citizens agree: Banning Muslims, as called for by newly seated Senator Pauline Hanson, is not a bad idea.
As previously reported here, Hanson of the One Nation party said in her inaugural day speech to Parliament earlier this month, that Muslims who refuse to assimilate ought to leave Australia.
Specifically, she decried the “danger of being swamped by Muslims who bear a culture and ideology that is incompatible with our own,” and warned mass influx of Muslims would lead to Sharia law.
Her remarks were met with outrage from Muslim communities and left-leaning politicos. But apparently, fully 49 percent of Australians agree with her.
The Telegraph reported the story, citing a new poll:
“The Essential poll asked whether Australians would support or oppose Ms. Hanson’s proposal to ban Muslim immigration.
“A staggering 49 percent supported the idea, with the main reason being ‘[Muslims] do not integrate into Australian society.”
Forty percent of respondents opposed the idea.
Hanson’s comments, and the poll of Australians showing widespread support for her proposal, come just as President Obama told the General Assembly in his final U.N. address in New York: America, as well as the world, needed to embrace those of different ethnic backgroundsand faiths, and to open doors more to immigration and assimilation.