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| Down Under | |
| Radical Cleric Hits Out at PM Howard | |
| 2005-07-24 | |
| THE nation's most radical Muslim cleric, Sheik Mohammed Omran, last night accused John Howard of being "inflammatory" as a war of words erupted between the religious leader and the Prime Minister over the responsibility of Muslim leaders to denounce terrorism. Speaking in London at the weekend, Mr Howard singled out the Melbourne-based sheik, describing as "appalling" his recent comments that Osama bin Laden "in effect is a good man and the attacks in London were the responsibility of the Americans". Sheik Omran, who has said there was no proof bin Laden was behind the September 11 attacks, said in the wake of the deadly July 7 London bombings he doubted Muslims were involved and it was more likely the attacks were orchestrated by the US to justify its war on Islam. In a statement issued last night in the form of an open letter to Mr Howard, Sheik Omran defended his views as reasonable and accused the Prime Minister of promoting fear by referring to potential suicide bombers within Australian communities. "Australia does not have a culture of suicide bombers, (Attorney-General) Philip Ruddock himself has stated that the threat to Australia is minimal," the sheik's letter reads. "This statement does nothing but entice fear into the hearts of Australians. It is your statement which is 'inflammatory'." On the Nine Network's 60 Minutes last night, Sheik Omran again defended bin Laden, saying the US Government and not the al-Qa'ida leader was responsible for the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. "I believe there is a ... conspiracy against Islams and Muslims," he said. "There is a mastermind behind these things and the mastermind is 100 per cent ... from the US Government." At a press conference in London Mr Howard hit out at religious leaders who did not exercise their obligation not to incite hatred. "There is an obligation of tolerance and respect on the part of all of us for bona fide different views on religion and politics and so forth," he said. "But there is a reciprocal obligation on leaders of communities, be they religious or otherwise, not to incite hatred, not to preach intolerance and that's a responsibility Islamic leaders in Australia carry very heavily. I think some have not been as strong in denouncing these acts as they should have been." A spokesman for radical group Hizb ut-Tahrir, Wassim Doureihi, said Mr Howard's comments were an attack on the core of Islam and that his group, which is being investigated for links to one of the London bombers, would continue to recruit new members in Australia. "It is becoming more and more clear that the issue is Islam itself, not just radicals or moderates," Mr Doureihi said. "(Mr Howard) is implying we should not advocate an Islam that is a threat to Western capitalism." Increased tensions between the Prime Minister and Muslim leaders came as Egyptian authorities arrested 35 people involved in a string of suicide bombings that killed at least 88 people in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh over the weekend. British authorities were also on the defensive last night after they admitted wrongly killing a Brazilian man, 27-year-old electrician Jean Charles de Menezes, on a London train last Friday. He was suspected of being an Islamic terrorist and shot five times in the head. The shooting came just two weeks after four near-simultaneous bombs killed 56 people in the British capital, including one Australian. In London, Mr Howard indicated he would be prepared to call a special anti-terror summit involving the Labor premiers to discuss tightening terror laws, especially improving public transport security through the use of closed-circuit television. "Of all the things that I have taken out of the few days I have been in London, none has been more powerful than the huge value of surveillance cameras," the Prime Minister said. Premiers last night supported better national co-ordination of counter-terrorism. One option is an unscheduled meeting of the Council of Australian Governments to discuss the issue. South Australian Premier Mike Rann said state and federal governments had to "sit down and discuss as a nation whether or not the threat of terrorism in Australia now warrants these tougher anti-terrorism laws". Queensland Premier Peter Beattie also backed an early COAG meeting, saying: "We're happy to work with the Commonwealth on this because protecting Queenslanders is one of our fundamental priorities."
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| Posted by:rkb |
| #4 "It is becoming more and more clear that the issue is Islam itself, not just radicals or moderates," Mr Doureihi said. "(Mr Howard) is implying we should not advocate an Islam that is a threat to Western capitalism." He sure is right: The issue is Islam - it is a murderous religion. |
| Posted by: Glereper Craviter7929 2005-07-24 20:06 |
| #3 Sheik Mohammed Omran??? Who the heck is that loser? Oh... I forgot. He is media audience bait... sorry. |
| Posted by: Thraling Ulaitle8166 2005-07-24 17:43 |
| #2 I think hearing Jazz Banjo might click my inner jihadi. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-07-24 17:31 |
| #1 Howard is "inflammatory"? Isn't that like the pot calling the kettle pot©? |
| Posted by: Bobby 2005-07-24 15:34 |