A story that could not be believed without a source

A correspondent forwarded to me the following astonishing item about Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of Australia:

Aussie PM Kevin Rudd’s message to Muslim extremists in Australia
Sunday, 8 March 2009—7:32 AM SL Time

Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia , as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks.

Separately, Kevin angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation’s mosques. Quote: ‘IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali, we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians.’

‘This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom’

‘We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society . Learn the language!’

‘Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.’

‘We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.’

‘This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, ‘THE RIGHT TO LEAVE’.’

‘If you aren’t happy here then LEAVE. We didn’t force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.’

I wrote back to my correspondent:

I’m astonished. It was the previous government, under John Howard, that made these hard line, “get out” statements. Rudd by contrast was supposed to be very very liberal. What happened?

I can’t find an original webpage where this was posted. It seems to have traveled around the world as an e-mail. Even the BNP site has it, but with no source. I can’t post it unless there’s an actual source.

My correspondent then forwarded to me an e-mail he had gotten from a person in Canada who works in the anti-terrorism field:

THIS IS A HOAX:

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/howard-muslim-speech.shtml

I remember finding this suspiciously similar to something former PM Howard had said (and I’m not talking about the Howard hoax version). When I saw it put into the mouth of Mr. Rudd, I knew it was nonsense.

[end of e-mail]

Yes, it’s nonsense. But if you Google the document, you will see that 1,150 websites posted it as though it was legitimate news.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at March 15, 2009 07:13 PM | Send