SYDNEY,
April 28, 2006 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Australia's
government said Friday, April 24, it may test immigrants' English skills
and understanding of Australian cultural values before allowing them to
become citizens.
The
test would require knowledge of Australian history, customs, laws,
values and law, Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and
Multicultural Affairs Andrew Robb told Sky News.
"We've
successfully integrated people from the four corners of the globe, we
just have to get better at it as we require more workers with skills to
carry out the growth needed in this country," Robb said.
Robb
said the test could help elements of Australia's 300,000-strong Muslim
minority integrate more fully into the general population.
Robb
said Muslim leaders had told him that more Australian based Muslim
preachers, who are predominantly born overseas, needed to preach in
English to make the religion more relevant to young Australians.
"There's
120,000 young Muslims born in Australia who only speak English and the
Muslim community is saying to me that sermons in the mosque should be in
a large part in English to make their faith relevant to them alongside
their Australian culture," Robb said.
Treasurer
Peter Costello said last year that Muslim immigrants should respect
Australian secular values or leave the country.
Education
Minister Brendan Nelson further said that Muslims who did not want to
accept local values should "clear off".
"White
Australia"
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"There's a lot of grey areas and no clear cut ideas and to bring a test in under these circumstances would be dangerous," said Ali.
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But
prominent members of the Muslim minority reacted cautiously to the
proposal.
New
South Wales Islamic Council spokesman Ali Roude said the test could be
likened to exams set under the notorious "White Australia"
policy which were used to exclude non-anglo-saxon migrants until the
1950s.
"I
would be most hesitant to endorse these changes if they could be seen as
a return by stealth to those dark days all decent Australians had
thought long past," he told AFP.
Australian
Federation of Islamic Councils president Ameer Ali was also sceptical.
"There's
all this talk about Australian values but no one says exactly what they
are," he told AFP.
"There's
a lot of grey areas and no clear cut ideas and to bring a test in under
these circumstances would be dangerous," he said.
Integrating
immigrants has become a burning issue in Europe with right-wing and
conservative governments vowing to expel the un-adaptive or deny access
to foreigners failing culture tests.
In
the Netherlands, would-be immigrants have to watch a film featuring a
topless woman and gay men kissing to test their readiness to learn Dutch
values and liberate in the country's liberal society.
A
number of German states are further considering a lengthy cultural quiz
that immigrants have to answer to get citizenship.
A
recent opinion poll showed that a majority of native Germans have
themselves failed to answer many questions in the controversial test.
Other
states like Bavaria have already made language and culture tests a
prerequisite for would-be immigrants.
Recent
social crises in Europe, especially in France and Germany, brought to
the fore the lamentable living conditions and educational levels of
immigrants, who are basically located in areas hit by unemployment,
social problems and poverty.
