There is a place for politics in sport, but not for fascism

"‘Stop Saudi Arabia and its backers’ would have been a more appropriate banner if their intention was to send a message about stopping the spread of radical Islam." - I would have no problem with this banner at all. The AFL probably would find it too controversial, but it is a very reasonable statement. It doesn't incite hate against any group, it raises concerns about a particular government and the actions that government takes and supports through proxies. Well said Jax.

Do some digging in to what the leadership of the UPF believe and stand for and you will find the word fascist is not inaccurate.

Thanks everyone for your mostly considered and thoughtful responses. I just want to add two things. 1. While the implied freedom of political communication was established in Australia by the decision in Theophanous v Herald & Weekly Times (1994), there's certainly nothing in the Constitution about it. So, unlike the US which has the 1st Amendment (and a number of state and federal laws) protecting freedom of expression, we don't have the same level of protection. Having said that, in the US there are qualifications on free speech, and certainly on freedom of association which is arguably though not explicitly protected by the 1st Amendment and section 1 of the 14th amendment. I'm personally of the view Australia should have a Bill of Rights. 2. The UPF made a rookie mistake. If you really want to stop mosques you need banners like: NO MOSQUES WITHOUT ADEQUATE PROVISION OF PARKING and MOSQUE ARCHITECTURE MUST BE IN KEEPING WITH THE LOCAL CHARACTER Councils love that sort of thing.

The same moderate Iran that regularly and repeatedly promises to annihilate Israel?

You are right that protesting about Gonski at the footy would be pretty weird... but so is going to the footy to call for a "stop" to mosques. The difference is the anti-mosque campaign implies mosques are dangerous places, therefore Muslims are dangerous, therefore you should hate and fear them... which could produce the sort of results that Trump's "Arabs in New Jersey cheered on 9/11" claim has caused in the US - a spike in assaults etc, though not on the same scale and intensity.

True, Indonesia is not Africa which is why it isn't on the World Health Organisation report. Indonesia has a population of 250M people so 1% would be 2.5M cases. Please enlighten us by providing links to the credible sources and surveys that you are 'looking at' - specifically the ones showing that it is on the rise in Indonesia. If we had one case one year, and two cases the following year that would mean that it had risen by 100% which would be a significant rise. It would not surprise me if there have been cases in Indonesia but they would be isolated however I'm happy to be proven wrong so please produce credible sources so that we can view them and judge them on their merits. I have provided data and reason while you've produced nothing (since Saturday) other than the occasional verse from the Qur'an and the opinion of a man mixed in with a number of claims that you seem unable to substantiate. Also, I believe that I have proven that sharia law is open to interpretation which by itself proves that not all Muslims have the same beliefs which has been the cornerstone of your position from the start.

Indonesia is not in Africa last time I looked Jax, and the rates of female GM are substantially on the increase. Fact is many of the countries don't show on the list because they don't supply the data, and this is acknowledged by most surveys that don't have an axe to grind.

Here is a link from the World Health Organisation showing the statistics for GM and it also shows the %. It is almost exclusively in North Africa, case closed. http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/fgm/prevalence/en/ Here is a link to countries that practice sharia law and it categories them by which sections of the law they implement (yes they can choose what to apply and ignore and they already clearly do as there are significant differences in interpretation and application - something that you refuse to believe, even when confronted with facts like these - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_of_sharia_law_by_country ISIS fully implements the types of sharia that should concern us - 1.6b Muslims do not support ISIS yet that is what you believe. Saudi Arabia, and some of the other gulf states practise strict Sharia law yet we don't see them on the WHO map? Iran claims to fully implement ‘Shia’ sharia law yet we don't see them on the map either. You quoted a man, not the Qur’an.

Ah yes nordster, the no true scotsman fallacy

Jax. The Reliance of the Traveller, or Umdat al-Salik, was composed in the 14th Century by Shihabuddin Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn an-Naqib al-Misri (1302–1367). It is a classical manual of Shafi’i fiqh, meaning it is an authoritative summation of the Islamic jurisprudence. In it you will find that FGM is sanctioned by Islamic law: “Circumcision is obligatory (for every male and female) (by cutting off the piece of skin on the glans of the penis of the male, but circumcision of the female is by cutting out the bazr ‘clitoris’ [this is called khufaadh ‘female circumcision’]).” — ‘Umdat al-Salik e4.3 So unless you argue that Sharia has nothing to do with Islam, then even you would surely find it difficult to stand beside your comment that FGM has nothing to do with religion, specifically Islam.

Well Northerner, I too have lived in several Muslim dominated countries, and have in fact lived for many years under Sharia law. I've also lived in several countries where there is a growing Muslim influence and have seen the social and political upheaval caused by those wishing to impose an Islamic theocracy on previously democratic and plural society. Your thoughts on Islam are obviously different than mine, though both of ours have been formed from personal experience. I'd be very happy should my misgivings about the growing (and in my opinion, negative) influence of Islam prove to be wrong. But somehow, I think history, that great window to the future, suggests that a democratic, plural and secular society will not be tolerated by the followers of Islam.

Juan dos, I think you will find, should you wish to search for the truth, rather than to settle for something that suits your narrative, that Islamic astronomy, based on Ptolemy’s system was geocentric. Algebra was originally a Greek discipline and ‘Arabic’ numbers were actually Indian. Islamic contributions to science and technology are as much a myth as the old chestnut that Islam is a religion of peace. The facts speak otherwise.

GM is widely practised in north-east Africa and it is common amongst Christians in the region. Are all Christians evil now? GM is cultural and there is no evidence to suggest that it is religious. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_views_on_female_genital_mutilation I can only assume that you read it on one of your extremist websites because it's simply not true.

You said zero which makes me question your knowledge, motivations and credibility - but yes, about 10%. Unfortunately. the west (until very recently) has refused to have any formal dialogue or diplomatic relations with them. Iran could be playing a very big role in fixing the mess that has been created. Most Muslims will listen to anything that they have to say but there are forces working against them and the west hasn't asked for their help. They leave that to the Saudi's and their other ME allies. If you don't want to fix the problem then you don't talk to them and we haven't had an honest conversation with Iran since they took back their sovereign oil reserves 37 years ago.

Unlike most of those commenting, I suspect, I've actually lived in a Muslim country and also in a country with a very large Muslim minority. LIfe for women can be very tough, especially in rural and tribal areas. In the cities, however, I knew plenty of Muslim women who were dentists, doctors, lawyers, judges, and doing very well within their society. Heck, two Muslim countries - Pakistan and Bangladesh - had female PMs a generation before Australia got around to it. As I said, generalizations.....

I don't much care for people who blow things up either. But that doesn't mean I think we should or ever should have banned immigration from Ireland because of a few IRA types with bombs.

A plebiscite on what, exactly? That we should cancel the part of the constitution that talks about freedom of religion? I suspect you're wrong.

Reading these comments here I would say the left wing fruitcakes are already winning. This column should be about sport but its now dragged into political she said, he said, and some took my ball and went home. Australia used to united until the loonies started throwing hand grenades about every minor issue on earth. The only "ist" that counts is realist, which there are few , just self serving people with agenda's. Having a banner like that in a sport field is wrong, shoving your political agenda down the throat of someone else at a sporting event is wrong, having a sporting organisation bending to every splinter group is wrong. Give us three hours a week where we can yell what we want, and say what we want, relieve some stress and then go back to the war grounds of Australia which is play ground of all the lunnie splinter groups. Nothing to be ashamed of, plenty to be proud of,time to get some balls Australia.

Maybe you need a dictionary to look up the word irony. Here's a head start- Irony - "a state of affairs or an event that is deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often wryly amusing as a result." I find it amusing that the cultural elite all have the same view - shut down debate, shut down the "fascists" is what they call them. Maybe they are scared of real debate? They think they are fighting the fascists, when everything they state is fascist in its intent. The poster Morsie below sums it up well as well. Also, Eddie McGuire dictating to people how they should think after what he said about Adam Goodes. Wowser.

Nonsensical response. Firstly, I know enough to know that the algebra and algorithms running the very technology you're using to make your comments about Islam achieving nothing, are actually Islamic achievements made during a time when the grand old West was in what we call the Dark Ages. Algebra. Algorithim. They're Arabic words, look it up. Secondly, I highlighted a logical failing in your argument. I've rarely if ever seen a conservative/right leaning person present their argument in clear and logical terms, avoiding fallacies. It's often generalisations and flowery language. Your right to free speech and an opinion are fine by me, but no one has the right to be taken seriously.