Estop Islamic School Mareeba committee meeting told to be vigilant
The EISM (Estop Islamic School Mareeba) group opened its monthly committee meeting on Wednesday night with a minute’s silence for the tragic hostage incident that left two people dead at Martin Place in the Sydney CBD.
Social media co-ordinator Kim Vuga chaired the Mareeba meeting telling the 45 residents present that the killing of two innocent people at the Lindt café in Sydney was a catastrophe that could have been prevented if security agencies had been doing their job.
She said law enforcement agencies spent more time checking out Australian Islamic opposition groups than actually monitoring the radical elements within the southern Islamic communities.
“This siege has begun to awaken people to the threat of Islamic fanaticism with potential, unimaginable repercussions against moderate Muslims which is very unfortunate,” Mrs Vuga said.
“Standard Bearers Academy was originally promoted as a multi-denominational boarding school but some local media reporting skirted the real function of the school.
“It was going to be an Islamic school and it was going to teach Islam to any faith that might attend,” Mrs Vuga said.
“The school project is finished in Mareeba but we have good reason to believe the SBA are looking at another site within Mareeba Shire.
“I have uploaded video and audio recordings to our Facebook page taken from SBA sites that clearly state the position the school had established with local authorities back in September.
“I think the council will take any further dealing with the SBA much more seriously.”
Speakers from the floor roundly condemned newspaper reports that Mareeba residents should somehow feel responsible for losing the college.
Long-time Mareeba resident, John Myrteza said although he was of Muslim faith he did not want to see a 1200 student Islamic school at Mareeba.
“The potential for trouble is too great,” Mr Myrteza said.
EISM chairman Alan Webb said he did not feel any remorse about the SBA placing the school site back on the market for $900,000.
“This meeting I can see is representative of the community and I have been congratulated from all over the place for helping to stop the school,” Mr Webb said.
“I have had no negative comments.”
A speaker from the floor suggested the group differentiate between the general terms ‘Muslim’ and ‘Islam.’
“We should be referring to the Arab faction as Islamics and the moderate, peace-loving local people as Muslim,” the speaker suggested.
A briefing about the British Government becoming the world’s leader in Islamic Sharia finance was discussed by the meeting.
As a result a motion was passed unanimously for EISM to write to the Mareeba Shire Council asking that it declare the entire shire as ‘Sharia law-free.’