Some Muslim communities have disowned him, and he faces being stripped of his title as mufti of Australia. In January he said Muslims who paid for their passports had more right to be in Australia than Anglo Saxons, whose forbears arrived in “shackles”. Last year he likened Western women to “uncovered meat” and suggested victims of sexual assault had themselves to blame. Taj El-Din Hilaly, a fundamentalist imam of the Lakemba mosque, has not helped his community's cause with recent comments. “They love Lakemba because you can get anything you want, and all languages are spoken.” I spot no white faces, although Kash assures me that “Anglos” can still be found at the local Returned Services League club, a last bastion of old Australia.Īlthough Lakemba is only 15 km from central Sydney, many Sydneysiders treat it as a questionable no-man's-land. “All sorts of nationalities here―too many!” he says. The café owner is from Iraq, his friend from Egypt. In many outback towns, struggling to survive in a crippling drought, the banks have steadily withdrawn.Īs well as Lebanese, there are Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Somali and Sudanese people on the streets. This is a sure sign of any community's prosperity. The main street outside is bustling, and Australia's four big banks all have branches there. A few days after our taxi discussion Kash meets me at Lakemba railway station and we go to a café where we drink huge glasses of fresh carrot juice with ice. When he is not driving a taxi he is studying law at the University of Western Sydney. Kash himself grew up in Sydney after his Pakistani parents arrived as skilled immigrants in the 1970s. About half Australia's Islamic community are said to live in Sydney, most in Lakemba and surrounding suburbs. It was once Anglo-Celtic working class, but is home now to a large Muslim population, many Lebanese, and to one of Australia's biggest mosques. 'These conversations showed me just how much the military has changed, and that gays and lesbians can be accepted by their peers.Lakemba is located in Sydney's sprawling south-western suburbs. John Shalikashvili wrote in The New York Times. 'Last year I held a number of meetings with gay soldiers and Marines,' retired Army Gen. But just two months ago, the man who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when the policy was introduced indicated he was having second thoughts about 'Don't ask, don't tell.'

There is no indication that the White House or the Pentagon is willing to change the policy. 'I'm proud to be a Marine, but I decided not to re-enlist so that I can live openly and honestly.' 'We cannot count those, gay and straight, who have chosen to leave rather than serve in silence like myself,' Fricke said.

Brian Fricke, left on their own rather than keep their secret. military were discharged because of their sexual orientation. In 2005, more than 700 members of the U.S. 'It is time to end this outdated and discriminatory policy.' Gay service members are discharged Meehan said his bill has 109 bipartisan co-sponsors in the House, and he said he expects that number to grow. 'But I think the November elections can only mean good things.' 'It will be an uphill climb,' Meehan said. It has failed before, and he admits it won't be easy this time, but he says it's not a lost cause. Marty Meehan, D-Massachusetts, has reintroduced a bill to lift the ban. Even troops with crucial skills, like Arabic translators, have been expelled. Since the Clinton administration instituted the policy, service members who reveal their homosexuality face immediate discharge.

'I'm an American who fought for his country and for the protection and the rights and freedoms of all American citizens - not just some of them, but all of them,' Alva said. He announced his homosexuality at a Wednesday news conference on Capitol Hill, where he called for the military's 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy on gays in the service to be abandoned. Now, he wants to use his place in history to win support for a proposed law to allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. 'Who would have guessed that the first American wounded was a gay Marine?' Alva said Wednesday.Īlva's service and sacrifice in Iraq earned him medals, media attention and a meeting with President Bush and the first lady. Eric Alva was one of the first Americans - perhaps the first - to be wounded in Iraq when he lost his leg to a land mine.īut for years, Alva kept a secret: He is gay.

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