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October 30, 2006

Australia: Radical Muslim Attacks Judges Over Rape

One of Australia's most extreme Salafist preachers, Sheikh Mohammed Jamal Omran, has openly said that he thinks Osama bin Laden is a "good man." He has also denied that Muslim fanatics created 9/11, preferring the insane conspiracy theory that the US government itself committed these attacks upon its own people. The Sheikh runs a prayer center on the second floor in Michael Street in Brunswick, Melbourne, in the inner north of the city. He has said that he is no more radical than the other 13 imams in Melbourne, but openly supports attacks against coalition troops by insurgents in Iraq.

He is head of the Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama'ah Association of Australia, founded 20 years ago. It describes itself on its website as "The Ahl Sunnah wal Jama'ah Association was established more than 20 years ago. We are a national body with affiliated organizations in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. We have always been a part of the Australian landscape - amongst the Muslim community we are known and respected for our relentless pursuit of moral truth in all aspects of life."

In August, the radical sheikh attacked a young contestant in a beauty contest. 16-year old Ayten Ahmed, a Melbourne girl of Turkish origin, was condemned for deciding to take part in the Miss Teen Australia pageant. Omran said: "The teachings of the Prophet and the Holy Koran do not encourage a girl to go out and uncover her modesty in public."

Omran's latest comments come on the heels of the Australian Mufti's suggestion that women who do not wear headscarfs are like meat left out for cats to eat, and that they "invite" rape. The Mufti, Sheikh Taj al-Din Al-Hilaly, had been widely condemned by Muslims and politicians alike for his comments.

The Australian reports that Mullah Omran told his flock on Friday that judges treated rapes by mom-Muslims far more leniently than those committed by Muslims.

Omran said: "I feel there is no justice here. Not 60 years and someone else three years and they did the same crime. Why? They make a big fuss about these kids because one of them, his name is Mohamed. Even if you kill someone you don't go for 60 years."

The reference to sixty years is an allusion to the original 55 year sentence, handed down to Lebanese Bilal Skaf on August 15, 2002, for his part masterminding violent gang-rapes in west Sydney. Because of a technicality, where jurors had done their own investigation of the crime scenes, Skaf was retried, and on July 28 this year, Skaf was given a minimum of eleven years' jail, additional to the 22 years' minimum jail for the other rapes he committed. The 2002 sentencing report was horrific in its detail. It can be found HERE.

"This is where I think everything has gone unbalanced. We don't support criminals or crimes, but at the same time we want justice for everyone," Omran said.

Omran has praised Hilaly, and on his website, he has posted an audio commentary of Hilaly's controversial speech. He said on Friday: "His name is a mufti and we should respect that name - we should respect the turban on his head. This is the sign of a scholar - you are not attacking Sheik Taj here, you are attacking the scholars, you are attacking...Islam."

Meanwhile, the Mufti has agreed to remove himself from his duties at the Lakemba mosque. The Australian, which originally revealed the translated contents of Hilaly's speech about "uncovered meat", notes that the Mufti is retiring, though whether or not this will be permanent is not known.

Hilaly collapsed during a meeting at which he was discussing his future with Tom Zreika, president of the Lebanese Muslim Association. He complained of chest pains, and was rushed to Canterbury Hospital, western Sydney.

Zreika said that the Mufti had suffered a "mild heart attack". Hilaly had been in his bed for most of the time since his comments were made public. He has asthma. He had obfuscated about his statements, and tried to claim that his comments were misunderstood. However, he has now issued a statement, in which he apologizes.

The statement included the comment: "I confess that this analogy is inappropriate and unacceptable for the Australian society and the Western society in general." The entire text of his statement, published by the Australian, can be found HERE.

The Sydney Morning Herald stated on Monday that the premier of New South Wales, Morris Iemma threatened to cut the funding of the Lebanese Muslim Association if it allowed the Mufti to continue teaching at the Lakemba mosque. He said it would have $100,000 of funding slashed.

ABC Broadcasting reported that federal Liberal backbencher Tony Smith had asked why, in 1986, the Labor government had over-ruled recommendations for Hilaly to be denied permanent residency in Australia. Chris Hurford, the immigration minister under the Hawke government had recommended the cleric not be given permission to stay indefinitely.

The Australian over the weekend had also revealed comments made by Hilaly that supported jihad against US and Australian forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In a speech on Arabic Radio, made a fortnight ago, Hilaly also praised Sayyid Qutb, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, executed in 1966, who advocated assassinations of Egyptian politicians and others. Qutb was virulently contemptuous of Western values.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at October 30, 2006 11:01 PM

Comments

Posted by: FreedomSeeker33 at October 31, 2006 1:48 AM

Posted by: hutchrun at October 31, 2006 6:31 AM

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