Open letter to the Navy adviser on Muslim Affairs, Captain Mona Shindy

The following open letter to Captain Mona Shindy, a Muslim lady who has been promoted to the rank of captain in the Royal Australian Navy, and who is apparently adviser to the Chief of the Navy on Muslim affairs, was published in the March 2016 edition of Quadrant magazine.

Dear Captain Shindy,

I would, as a taxpayer and citizen, be much obliged if you would answer the following questions. All except Questions 14a and 15 may be answered by a simple “Yes” or “No”.

1) Do you believe the Koran is the complete and unalterable word of Allah as revealed to his messenger Mohammad?

2) Do you believe in sharia law, including punishments such as amputation for theft?

3) Do you believe women taken prisoners of war by Muslims may be used as sex-slaves, or other slaves?

4) Do you believe a woman’s evidence in court is worth half as much as a man’s?

5) Do you believe apostates from Islam should be put to death?

6) Do you believe homosexuals should be put to death?

7) Do you believe it is permissible for a Muslim to lie to unbelievers?

8) Do you believe a Muslim man can validly divorce his wife by saying “I divorce thee” three times?

9) Do you believe Jews and Christians should pay the dhimmi tax and other disabilities?

10) Do you agree with those Muslim states which make it a capital offence to sell land to a Jew?

11) Do you support Israel’s right to exist behind secure boundaries?

12) Do you believe it should be permissible for Jews and Christians to build places of worship in Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia?

13) Do you believe Jews should be allowed to pray on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem?

14) Do you believe the location of the Australian embassy to Israel should be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem?

14a) If not, why not?

15) In your address to the Royal United Services Institute of New South Wales on March 31, 2015, you stated inter alia: “Another example of double standards is the world’s reluctance or inability to enforce the 1948 United Nations resolution regarding the Israeli-occupied territories of Palestine, but its willingness to take prompt and decisive action against other nations such as Iraq, even in the absence of a United Nations mandate.” What exactly do you mean by this and which 1948 resolution do you refer to?

15a) Is this statement consistent with the rule that serving officers should not comment on political subjects?

16) Do you agree that Israel was the victim of aggressive war by Arab states in 1948, 1967 and 1973?

17) Do you agree that Israel has been the victim of innumerable rocket attacks and other acts of terrorism?

18) Is your paramount loyalty to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen of Australia, and her lawful representatives?

I await your reply with interest.

Hal G.P. Colebatch
Nedlands, WA