At first I thought I must have got it wrong.
After all, when was the last time you heard of anyone refusing to observe a minute’s silence?
The minute’s silence was intended to show solidarity in the face of terrorism. It was especially poignant for South Australians as one of their own, nurse Kirsty Boden, was among London’s dead. Along with Queensland au pair Sara Zelenak, our countrywomen represented one quarter of those killed in last weekend’s latest terrorist tragedy.
According to Football Federation Australia, the official excuse was that a minute’s silence was ‘not in keeping with Saudi culture.’ That’s funny because Saudi soccer teams have done it elsewhere, such as in Barcelona not long after a team of Brazilian footballers were killed in a plane-crash. Don’t insult our intelligence, this was not about cultural norms. This was a football team from a fundamentalist Islamic nation not being prepared to condemn Islamic terrorism.
Why am I even surprised?
Saudi Arabia is one of the most repressive countries on earth. Apostasy, or leaving the Muslim faith, is punishable by death, as is homosexuality. An adult woman requires the approval of a male guardian in order to travel, study or work. According to media reports, when the Saudi soccer team was last here in 2015, they refused to board a team bus provided by organisers because the driver was female. Their view? Women are not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia and we needed to respect their beliefs. My view? This is Australia, get on the bus or walk. The team then requested only male drivers and I’ve no doubt we rolled over and met their demands.
To keep the peace.
Read the full blog post by Peta Credlin at RendezView.