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| Down Under |
| Al-Timmi preached jihad in Australia |
| 2005-07-23 |
| RADICAL Australian Muslims were exposed to the extremist teachings of an American cleric who has been jailed for life in the US for inciting his followers to commit jihad against the West. The cleric, Sheik Ali al-Timimi, was invited to speak in Australia by this country's most senior fundamentalist cleric, Sheik Mohammed Omran, and gave lectures in Melbourne and also at the controversial Sydney prayer hall in Haldon St, Lakemba, which is run by Sheik Abdul Salam Zoud. Senior Islamic sources say some of Sheik Timimi's sermons, given during a visit in 2000, were recorded and continue to be sold at the bookstore in Sheik Omran's prayer hall in Brunswick - one of several bookstores that have come under scrutiny this week for selling radical Islamic texts. A US court last week sentenced Sheik Timimi to life in prison for his actions in 2001 in inciting Muslims to jihad against the West and, in particular, against Western forces in Afghanistan - only months before Australian troops are scheduled to arrive in that country to help fight the Taliban. Sheik Timimi's call was heeded by a group of followers in the US, 11 of whom were charged with conducting paramilitary training to prepare for "holy war" abroad. The case resulted in nine convictions, the largest number in a US terror case since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Prosecutors described Sheik Timimi as a "purveyor of hate and war" for his role in inciting his followers, and his hefty sentence has sparked debate in the US about the limits of free speech in an era of terrorism. A similar debate has broken out in Australia this week following calls by Australia's best-known Islamic leader, Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali, for bans on extremist Islamic literature and for the deportation of Islamic clerics who incite their followers to commit violent acts. Sheik Omran has flatly rejected Sheik Hilali's proposals. Attorney-General Philip Ruddock told The Australian yesterday the Government already had in place measures to ensure potential visitors who might incite violence could be refused a visa. "If you look at the visa arrangements in relation to character testing, we have a lot of people who might euphemistically be described as sheiks who are denied entry to Australia because they might bring discordant messages," Mr Ruddock said. Sheik Timimi enjoys a broad global following among radical Muslims, including in Australia. In an internet message in 2003, he described the destruction of the space shuttle Columbia as a "good omen" for Muslims in an apocalyptic conflict with the West. Sheik Timimi called on his followers to commit jihad against the West only five days after the September 11 terror attacks. Several of them then travelled to Pakistan, where they received military training from Lashkar-i-Taiba, an organisation that has since been branded a terrorist group by the US and Australia. Mr Ruddock said Australia already had laws relating to incitement to commit a terrorist act, but retained an open mind about whether further changes were necessary. "If you are talking jihad, does that constitute incitement to commit a terrorist act? It probably doesn't. Everything depends on the facts," he said. "Do you start trying to define what aspects of a sermon might constitute a criminal offence?" He said he would take a close look at the British Government's plans to create a new offence of "indirect incitement" to commit terrorist acts. But he cautioned that Canberra would not necessarily follow Britain's example. Mr Ruddock said that in some of its proposed counter-terrorism measures, Britain was playing "catch-up" with Australia. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #13 when are the crackers gonna enforce their rule, dammit |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-07-23 20:09 |
| #12 Could you explain "dominate?" and what they do, actually? It would be really helpful. Lebanese gangs control much of the organised crime in Sydney, from car stealing racquets to extortion to drugs. The only main competition comes from South East Asian gangs, who prey mostly on their own community than the community at large. They mainly operate in South Western Sydney, and certain streets are no go zones for police unless they come in force. |
| Posted by: Paul Moloney 2005-07-23 19:54 |
| #11 And WHICH specific parts of Sydney? |
| Posted by: ex-lib 2005-07-23 16:12 |
| #10 "Australian Muslims . . . making up gangs that dominate parts of Sydney." Could you explain "dominate?" and what they do, actually? It would be really helpful. Also did not understand "the perception with considerable justification is that we make the money and they spend it." Thanks phil_b. |
| Posted by: ex-lib 2005-07-23 16:12 |
| #9 Mrs D, perceptive. I've been in Melbourne recently, but not Sydney. My personal opinion is that the centre of gravity in Oz politics is shifting away from Sydney and Melbourne and towards Perth and Brisbane. The perception with considerable justification is that we make the money and they spend it. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-07-23 08:34 |
| #8 Phil, do you think that is true for Sydney and Melbourne? I got a much different feeling there, more Euro multi-culti, than in Adelaide, Brisbane or Perth. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2005-07-23 08:18 |
| #7 Speaking as an immigrant to Australia and someone who most of the people I socialize with are non-white immigrants or married to same, then most immigrants don't want multi-culti as .com put it. They want their kids to be real Aussies. The problem is with the usual suspects, professional leftists, the media and the immigrants who don't want to assimilate. I'll tell you a story. The best know and best host of a current affairs program here (who incidentally the Aboriginals I used to work with insisted was one of them) had a piece featuring a professor who was anti African and Asian immigration. The guy was obviously selected as someone who would portray the issue in the worst light. Frankly the guy was an idiot and most here could put up a better argument. Nonetheless, the phone poll afterwards had 85% supporting his position. My point is that Australia is still a relatively homogenous society, and when and if the shit hits the fan most immigrants will side with the majority and despite the media hype most Australians (certainly all that I know) will side with the immigrants who want to be Aussies. The endgame is, those who don't will be seperated out somehow and likely deported or otherwise isolated. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-07-23 08:05 |
| #6 American cleric is really a stretch. How about terrorist? Why is taxpayer money being wasted on this prick? |
| Posted by: John Q. Citizen 2005-07-23 07:55 |
| #5 John Howard has been in London the last few days with Tony Blair during all the latest violence, he was also in Washington DC on 9/11 .... Cue next Islamo-nutcase conspiracy theory in 5 ... 4 ... 3 .... |
| Posted by: AzCat 2005-07-23 07:11 |
| #4 trying to ride the razor blade Now that is an uncomfortable image! |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-07-23 06:24 |
| #3 John Howard has been in London the last few days with Tony Blair during all the latest violence, he was also in Washington DC on 9/11, so he has learned all the lessons he needs to, it's just a matter of action. In Australia any Isamist terror attack is likely to involve Lebanese, who are the same success story that the Paks have been in England, the Algerians in France, the Moroccans in Holland etc. I'd guess we are about 10 years behind those countries when it comes to Jihadi threats, but the warning signs are there, with Australian Muslims having high unemployment levels, poor education, high birth rate and making up gangs that dominate parts of Sydney. |
| Posted by: Paul Moloney 2005-07-23 04:20 |
| #2 Since Australia seems to be very similar to the US, i.e. a hardcore idiotarian press with a public Kool Aid following below majority, and has a real leader like Howard (major kudos to the man), I have real confidence that they are watching the London events very closely - and none of the lessons currently being learned will be lost on them. I figure the UK will join the Dutch and begin to grab a clue about their suicidal level of multi-culti foolishness, often mischaracterized as "tolerance" - and it will be a tipping point for those Western countries which are still trying to ride the razor blade. Once a couple of the biggies "get it" and start openly deporting or jailing the imams and their followers in self-defense, others will follow suit. No one seems to want to be the first - the multi-culti "club" is very intolerant of splitters, apparently. Choosing between the club and public safety / survival should be easy enough - but we'll see. BTW, I don't have any respect for the Chirac regime's public symp mouthings vs their tougher non-public actions - it needs to be open and obvious policy or it will have no useful deterrent effect. Just more Chirac duplicity and disingenuous self-interest. I think the Ozzies will get it early and apply it often. Will they get hit at home? Yeah, probably. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-07-23 03:28 |
| #1 Sheik Omran appears to be the head Wahabi in Australia, and has a lot of unpleasant acquantinces. Hopefully it won't take an attack in Sydney before he is dealt with. |
| Posted by: Paul Moloney 2005-07-23 01:54 |