Head chopping and Christianity go together hand in hand. Have you not read British history? For a period of about 300 years, all they did was chop heads off. Protestants, Catholics, Witches, you name it, it probably got chopped.
Come on. That's not fair. They burnt them at the stake. Completely different.
Why the Priests abuse children? Perhaps celibacy.
Perhaps although by all accounts Pakistani madrassas are just as bad (and Protestants are supposed to have even higher rates). But who knows?
Another story. Spot the word "Muslim".
Sydney shootings up to 22
By Les Kennedy and David Braithwaite
March 30, 2006 - 5:44PM
· Shooting victim due to marry on Sunday
· Victim had concealed gun
· Fenech tells of 'special' boxer
· Stabbing and drugs in dead men's past
· Crowd hampered police after shootings
· Fibro home peppered with bullets
· Sydney's 22nd shooting incident this year
Police patrols will be stepped up around a western Sydney suburb after two men were gunned down in the street last night.
NSW Police Commissioner Ken Moroney called a top-level meeting following the double murder and nearby drive-by shooting - bringing the number of shootings in Sydney this year to 22.
It emerged that one of two young men gunned down in Blaxcell Street, Granville was due to be married on Sunday, and that Guantanamo Bay inmate Mamdouh Habib had been quizzed by police and released.
Natalie Azar, 18, said she heard the man who died in hospital was getting married on the weekend.
"I spoke to the (dead) bloke's sister that died and she had no idea what had happened.''
"She said that she'd just come from Melbourne for her brother's wedding.''
Ms Azar said that the dead man's little brother had to be held down by police, screaming "tell me the name of who died''.
Ms Azar said that when the sister found about her brother's death she was taken the hospital and was hysterical.
Victim a 'special' boxer: Fenech
Champion boxer Jeff Fenech said one of the dead men was Bassam Chami, a 26-year-old boxer of Lebanese descent who turned professional last year and had been unbeaten in the three fights he had so far.
Mr Fenech said Chami, of Granville, was a "great kid" with "more potential than any kid I've seen for a long long time''.
He said Chami trained at Billy Hussein's boxing gym and that he had been keeping an eye on Chami for at least a year.
"I told [his coach Hussein] the first time I seen the kid he was very, very special.
"I [also] pointed him out to Johnny Lewis. I said, 'Have you seen this kid fight? He's got enormous potential.
"I seen a kid that probably had more potential than any kid I've seen for a long long time.''
Chami recently participated in a debate on the Cronulla riots, saying he believed that sport kept "his boys'' out of trouble.
Victim convicted of manslaughter
It is understood he had a conviction for the manslaughter of a man stabbed to death in an altercation in an Auburn hotel around seven years ago.
The other victim was a 26-year-old Auburn man who had drug convictions.
Assistant Commissioner State Crime Command Graeme Morgan said: "In this case we don't believe shots were fired from a passing motor vehicle, we believe they were fired after a confrontation in the street.''
Mr Morgan said that one of the men was carrying a pistol but it had not been used.
Victim had concealed gun
He said the dead man's gun was "concealed and wrapped''.
The victims did not live at the house where the shooting happened and police don't yet know what they were doing there.
Mr Morgan said that due to the seriousness of the offence, the State Crime Command had been immediately put on notice.
The investigation is being led by the homicide squad, assisted by Task Force Gain and local police.
Mr Morgan said that there has been "22 discharges of firearms in public places'' this year and that the bulk has been in south-west Sydney.
He said that there were obvious links between thee shootings to indicate an outbreak of gang warfare.
He confirmed that former Guantanamo Bay inmate Mamdouh Habib had been spoken to by police but said that Mr Habib was not suspected of involvement in any culpable way in what took place last night.
Firemen hosed blood and fuel from the road before three vehicles - including a BMW and a Tarago - were towed away. Police said the fuel tank of one of the cars was ruptured by a bullet.
Habib questioned till dawn
Mamdouh Habib was questioned by police until around dawn after reportedly being stopped as he drove past the shooting scene in Blaxcell Street.
Police say a crowd of 200 people hampered their investigation after the shootings around 11.15pm.
Raul Bassi, who campaigned for Mr Habib's release when he was held as a terrorist suspect at Guantanamo Bay detention facility, said: "It seems like police think Mamdouh was a witness or something."
Police said two people had been arrested for disobeying directions but were released without charge later in the night.
Regularly chatted outside home
A Blaxcell Street resident said the dead men had been standing with a group of other men when the gunmen drove up and opened fire.
The resident, identified only as Peter, said: "Talk among neighbours was that a white Celica had been cruising past the location for the past week checking out the two dead men and their friends who regularly stood outside one of the homes chatting in the evening.''
Dana Awny, 43, who lives in the street, said: "I heard the commotion and went to have a look. I asked what was going on and heard there was one killed, one injured.''
Mr Awny said that there were "at least one to two hundred people there'' - mainly of young men.
"One young fellow was crying - he said to the police that his friend had been killed," he told smh.com.au.
People arguing and shouting
"There were people arguing and shouting with the police so they called for more cops and pushed the people away.''
Mr Awny said some of the young men were "on the phone calling people and by the second people would just come - they were saying 'come, someone just got killed.'''
Sue, 46, lives in a nearby street said "it's scary, very scary''.
"It's not safe around anymore. My kids are not allowed to go across the fence unless I'm watching.''
Neighbour tells of disturbances
Neighbour Warren Stevens, 51, said he heard the gunshots as he lay in bed trying to sleep.
"I was in bed, tossing and turning for about an hour, and then these four or five loud pops [occurred in] rapid succession.''
"There was no squeal of tires or anything like that [but] my wife [did hear] a car take off.''
Mr Stevens said the shooting didn't surprise him.
"If I was going to put money on which house would ... have something like this happen to it, I would have had money on that house...
"People turning up with cars late at night, burn outs, squeelies, what have you. Firecrackers going off late at night, I do mean firecrackers as opposed to firearms.''
He said he is now concerned for the safety of his family.
"The shots were aimed at one house, not ours [but] it doesn't take much for a bullet to ricochet.''
He said Railway Street was a typical suburban area, with little problems with crime up until now.
"We get your occasional suburban problems, house break-ins and what have you, but nothing of this nature, of shots being fired.''
Shot dead on road
Granville police Inspector Gary Sims said when police arrived they discovered the first man dead on the road.
"(The second man) was slumped over on the footpath not far away and the ambulance were quickly on the scene and conveyed him to hospital," he said.
Insp Sims said police did not believe the shooting was linked to a driveby shooting in Railway Street in the nearby suburb of Guildford less than three hours later.
Fibro home peppered with bullets
A single-storey fibro house was peppered with 14 gunshots at 1.45am, but the man, woman and three children inside escaped uninjured.
In the second shooting incident, two adults and three children in a house in Guildford escaped unharmed when several shots were fired into their home about 1.45am (AEDT).
A neighbour, Mick, said he was woken by gunshots.
''I just heard what appeared to be gun shots at 1.30 in the morning. I was lying in my bed. In the first session there was about three or four shots I think and about five seconds later I heard another three or four shots...
"Then I heard a car accelerate and I just lay in my bed listening to the noise and a little while later I saw blue and red flashing lights and I came out.''
He said he had lived in the street six years with his wife and children.
Drug activity
"The whole street has turned to water in the past two and a half years. It's what I think is drug activity in the neighbourhood and a few undesirables walking about.''
Insp Simms said people were justifiably concerned about gun crime.
"Sydneysiders have a right to feel concerned about violence on the streets but when you look at the response that has been provided there is great efforts being taken to investigate these matters," he said.
"Everyone is working together for a positive outcome."
- with Jano Gibson and AAP
.
