GOOD NEWS! Nearly 50% of all Australians are anti-Muslim

A decade-long national study has found that nearly 50 percent of Australians identify themselves as having anti-Muslim attitudes.

ABC NEWS — Researchers from universities across the country polled thousands of people about their attitudes to different cultures and whether they had experienced racism. The research found around one in 10 Australians identified themselves as prejudiced against other cultures.

Anti-Muslim sentiment was even higher, at 48.6 per cent.

Lead researcher Professor Kevin Dunn from the University of Western Sydney says recent political rhetoric has not helped. “If you continue to speak about a group as a problem, whether that be asylum seekers or Muslims, that will [be] cast within the public mind,” he said.

New South Wales was the state most intolerant of Muslims, with just over 54 per cent of people expressing prejudice. The president of the Council of International Students, Robert Atcheson, says the survey is another blow to Australia’s already-damaged reputation. (That’s what YOU think)

“If you’re an international student that’s looking at coming to Australia, or Canada or UK or the US, that could definitely sway their decision to go somewhere else,” he said.(And Australians are hoping Muslim students chose elsewhere)

MORE than 1,600 signatures have been lodged against an Islamic center proposed for Worongary. The proposal has ignited passions in the community, with two protests on site attracting hundreds of people and prejudicial graffiti sprayed in the area.

Gold Coast –– A petition against the mosque collected more than 1600 signatures, while more than 200 objections were received by the Gold Coast City Council during the submission period, which was voluntarily extended for two weeks by the applicant -the Islamic Multicultural Association of the Gold Coast.

If approved the mosque would cater for a maximum of 40 people at a time.

Worongary resident Sean Mann, who organised the protest on traffic issues, said it was a ‘no-brainer’ that they would lodge an appeal if the council approved the Alkira Way mosque.

In 2009, protests were held about the proposal for the now-approved Australian International Islamic College at Carrara and more than 1800 people signed a petition against the school.