| Submit your comments on this article |
| Down Under |
| Terror links in battle for control of Austalian mosque |
| 2008-01-06 |
| An Islamic group accused of trying to seize control of a Sydney mosque is understood to be part of a hardline religious movement that has been linked to the 2005 London bombings. The Australian has been told that some of the group's members follow the Tablighi Jamaat stream of Islam, which is under watch by Western intelligence agencies because of its suspected links to terrorism. The battle for the Sefton mosque in Sydney's southwest has already resulted in legal action being taken over ownership of the property and the resident imam being kicked out of his home. Sheik Abdul Karim Quasimi has also been served with an apprehended violence order forcing him to stay away from the Helen Street mosque. Sheik Abdul Karim, who is not a Tablighi follower, said the group had gone to extremes to remove him, including calling in police to evict him from his home in the middle of the night. "It was very scary, the police arrived very early in the morning," he said. He said the group was attempting an ethnic and religious-based takeover, wanting the mosque exclusively for Bangladeshi Muslims, particularly those who follow Tablighi, to the exclusion of other ethnic groups including Arabic Muslims. "Some of the Tablighi in Australia are very dogmatic, bordering on extreme," he said. The caretaker of the mosque, Mohammed Zantar, said trouble started last year when a number of new members, who are Tablighi, were elected to the 15-strong committee that runs the mosque. Islamic Friendship Association president Keysar Trad said the move against the imam was unprecedented. "It is a disgrace to seek out an AVO against an imam unless he's made a major breach of religious teachings or the law," he said. The Tablighi are influenced by a fundamentalist branch of Saudi Arabian-based Islam known as Wahabism. The sect has been linked to two July 7 London bombers, and failed shoe bomber Richard Reid is also known to have attended Tablighi meetings. Tablighi supporters reject the idea that the group is linked to terrorism or recruiting members for jihad, instead saying they are bringing Muslims back to the mosque. One of the founders of the mosque and committee member Abdul Bhuiyan said legal action was under way between the original trustees of the mosque, the House of Peace, and the Bangladeshi Islamic Centre which now runs the mosque. Mr Bhuiyan said when the mosque was established in 1995 it was for all Muslims, but the new members now wanted it to be exclusively for the Bangladeshi community. Sefton mosque committee member Kabir Ahmed said Sheik Abdul Karim had been caught in the middle of the dispute and treated badly. But the press secretary of the Bangladeshi Islamic Centre and committee member Abdullah Yousef Shamim has denied the Tablighi were staging a takeover. Mr Shamim, who refused to confirm or deny he was Tablighi, admitted some of the new members were followers but said he did not know how many. "It is not an issue," he said. Mr Shamim said the dispute with Sheik Abdul Karim stemmed from dissatisfaction with the imam's work practices. He said the group wanted an imam who was more qualified and more experienced and gave more "attractive sermons" than Sheik Abdul Karim. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #2 An excellent plan. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2008-01-06 10:49 |
| #1 Settle the issue by torching the joint. |
| Posted by: Woozle Elmeter 2907 2008-01-06 10:02 |