Wotta surprize... one more exposed Moderate Muslim...ASIO warned the authorities 20 years ago that Sheik Taj Eldeen Alhilaly could inflame communal violence in Australia. Court judgments show ASIO initially believed the controversial mufti posed a risk to the community because of his alleged propensity to cause or promote violence.
Shortly after his arrival in Australia as the new imam of Lakemba Mosque in 1982, Sheik Alhilaly was also linked with a shadowy terrorist group, Soldiers of God, which is thought to have been involved in the assassination of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat in 1981. A group of the same name, also known as Ansar al Islam, is among those listed by the Federal Government as a banned terrorist organisation. Western governments believe Ansar al Islam has close ideological and operational links with al-Qaeda.
Sheik Alhilaly was also alleged to have endorsed suicide bombing, verbally attacked women and preached a highly political message of extremism.
The Sunday Telegraph columnist Piers Akerman writes today that a former intelligence officer said Alhilaly's name first surfaced in a report by one of Australia's most senior intelligence assets in Cairo. The report named the sheik, claimed he had spent a number of years training in Libya and was sent to Australia to train extremists. Akerman writes the report was shelved and the agent who sent it believes that a campaign was waged against its contents.
The pressure on Alhilaly grew yesterday, with Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs Andrew Robb saying it was time for Sheik Alhilaly to heed the wishes of moderate Muslims and resign. He also questioned the sincerity of his apology for comments comparing women to uncovered meat and blaming them for rape.
"The body language of the apology was totally unconvincing,'' Mr Robb said. "He's condoned violence against women and snubbed his nose at ... every section of the community.''