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| Down Under |
| Hizb ut-Tahrir free to spread hatred in Sydney |
| 2006-08-25 |
| THEY spread leaflets in suburban Sydney calling for jihad to destroy Israel - but the Federal Government can find no reason to outlaw extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir. The group produces and distributes a graphic pamphlet which claims Israel has no right to exist and uses key dates in the Muslim calendar to signal the coming destruction of the Jewish state. The propaganda has convinced many residents their suburbs are being overrun by Islamic extremists. "These leaflets need to be published in The Daily Telegraph. People need to know about this terrorist organisation in Australia," one Bankstown resident said. The hate pamphlet comes after The Saturday Daily Telegraph revealed an escalation of anti-Semitic behaviour since tensions in the Middle East flared last month. Jewish university students were targeted and forced to hide their traditional skullcaps beneath baseball caps to avoid abuse, while attacks on synagogues have increased. Members of Hizb ut-Tahrir arranged a meeting in Bankstown for last Saturday night under the title "Israel is an illegal state that Muslims will never accept". But Bankstown City Council refused to allow the event on the grounds it could incite violence and the forum was shifted to the New Westella reception centre in Lidcombe. Hizb ut-Tahrir is banned in Germany and British Prime Minister Tony Blair has called for it to be outlawed in the UK, but the group remains legal here despite repeated calls for it to be banned. A spokesman for Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said last night that security agencies were "very aware of the pamphlet being circulated by Hizb ut-Tahrir". "Those who seek tolerance from other groups should show that same tolerance," the spokesman said. Despite calls for the group to be banned in Britain over its alleged links to the London bombings, it was not deemed radical enough to be included on a proscribed list of terror groups here. "In order for a group to be proscribed as a terrorist organisation it must be directly or indirectly engaged in, preparing, planning, assisting in or fostering a terrorist act," Mr Ruddock's office said. Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman Mohammed Abdalwahab claimed - in contrast to his propaganda - that the group calls for the non-violent overthrow of governments and the rise of Islamic governments and Sharia law. He said Hizb ut-Tahrir, which he said was growing dramatically, was concentrating on "Muslim lands, at this stage" and "100 per cent supports Sharia law". "Whatever Islam advocates, HT advocates," Mr Abdalwahab said. Members of the group have reportedly been given entry to Sydney Boys High and Sydney University to espouse their views. |
| Posted by:Oztralian |
| #1 So it's OK to call for the destruction of every Arab and Islamic state? |
| Posted by: Jackal 2006-08-25 20:50 |