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| Down Under |
| $2.65m to ’save’ hardliner’s mosque |
| 2004-06-25 |
| Saudis have donated almost $2.65 million to buy a mosque in Sydney for supporters of one of Australia’s most hardline Islamic clerics. Saudi fundraiser Sheikh Muhammad Bin Abdullah Al-Dawish said that his campaign to raise money for the mosque had been successful after the intervention of the mufti of Saudi Arabia. Sheikh Al-Dawish told The Weekend Australian from Saudi Arabia that the mufti had "spoken to a few officials" and the money was raised. He said he did not know who was behind the mosque in Sydney and he had never visited Australia. But Muslims would always donate if they thought a mosque anywhere in the world was under threat of closure. "This is not unusual. People all through the Middle East would make donations if this happened in Canada or Australia," he said. Articles have appeared in Arabic newspapers and websites overseas appealing for donations to help pay for the Sydney mosque, with warnings that Jews or Buddhists were trying to buy the site. Supporters of the project in Australia expressed surprise yesterday at Sheikh Al-Dawish’s comments, saying that no money had flowed through to them. Supporters of Sheikh Abdul Salam Mohammed Zoud are trying to raise funds before next month’s settlement date for the mosque in the southwestern suburb of Belmore. Supporters paid a 10 per cent deposit for the property and two adjoining sites ahead of the auction in May. The mosque is around the corner from Sheikh Zoud’s small prayer hall, whose congregation includes Bilal Khazal, charged this month with compiling a jihad book that was likely to facilitate a terrorist act. French terror suspect Willie Brigitte was married at the prayer hall to former Australian soldier Melanie Brown before his deportation from Sydney late last year. Sheikh Zoud, who is among clerics teaching a fundamentalist form of Islam called Salafi, was unavailable for comment yesterday. It is unclear if his growing congregation would move from the prayer hall after the settlement date to the larger mosque, which is currently closed. Supporter and Sydney-based cleric Moussaab Legha said he doubted the money for the mosque had been raised offshore because nobody from his community had heard about it. Sheikh Legha from the Voice of Islam radio station said locals were working hard to raise the money themselves. Advertisements were being played on the radio station and people were collecting donations in the streets. Sheikh Al-Dawish said he and two other clerics formed a committee in Saudi Arabia to raise the mosque money, with notices posted on Islamic websites and chatrooms. "The Islamic community is concerned about the Judaisation of the neighbourhood and a deposit has been paid in case the mosque is sold to the Jewish community," one of their notices says. |
| Posted by:TS(vice girl) |
| #30 Hey, maybe your friend was right. #28, maybe GAY males are the new "special" flavor of the month in liberal democracies. That illustrates my point. The danger of awarding "specialness" to any group is that it is an artificial legal construct and as your friend eventually discovered, one day being female and Jewish was having the sun shine on her, and then political/demographics changed and alas, there was a new "special" liberal hobby horse hogging the sunlight and she was left in darkness, like heterosexual whitey Christian males have been for the past 25 years. It's cold in the dark, isn't it. Propagandize THEIR kids for OUR way of life - IE tolerance. Teach them in public schools. Promote tolerance wherever possible - and make sure THEIR kids hear it, NOT JUST our kids He, he...that's been a real successful plan in Western public schools all right...dream along with me, LH. Maybe all that "tolerance" taught in public schools is one of the reasons that OBL is so popular with zealot Muslims...tolerance for teaching Kindergarteners how to thread a condom on a banana; tolerance for families with 2 mothers and 2 fathers; tolerance for feminist Germaine Greer/Madonna/Lyndie Englund theories instilled in youthful females; tolerance for GAY-Straight Alliance to talk to Middle Schoolers about the wonders of dying of AIDS at an early age...right, those "propagandizing" efforts to spread "tolerance" have been a big hit with the Muslim world... |
| Posted by: rex 2004-06-25 6:24:37 PM |
| #29 LH: In #27, your #1 is pretty much the key. Gotta change KSA. #2 prolly won't work, our public schools (at least here in Kahlyfohnya)are part of the problem. The only tolerence being taught is FOR the ROP - by mandate - besides, the kids in this mosque are most likely being educated at the mosque itself and likwise elsewhere. #4 is good, and I think it's the one they fear the most and fear it they should. Compare our immigration stats to theirs, heh heh. I like your take: base the fight in the community by the people. |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2004-06-25 6:09:54 PM |
| #28 IMHO, Jews and Muslims and homosexuals and females and pink skinned Albinos should not warrent any more special status and legal protections in the the eyes of the law than boring ho-hum whitey Episcopal males. i know of at least one jew who converted to Episcopalianism cause she thought PECUSA was more activist on gays and AIDS than Jewish synagogues. Just thought id throw that out there. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2004-06-25 5:49:23 PM |
| #27 what to do 1. Note the source of the money - KSA. Change KSA. Or deny them money, by changing our energy sources. 2. Propagandize THEIR kids for OUR way of life - IE tolerance. Teach them in public schools. Promote tolerance wherever possible - and make sure THEIR kids hear it, NOT JUST our kids 3. Missionize them for other religions or for atheism - but do so privately, not using the state. 4. Encourage other forms of assimilation as well - linguistic, etc. 5. Encourage other forms of Islam. But again privately. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2004-06-25 5:47:26 PM |
| #26 property rights? What if they decide not to EVER let any Joooos in the neighborhood? Hey, it's their property, right, LH? If i put my house for sale and turn away, say, a black buyer, im violating the law. if, OTOH, i decide not to sell my house, BECAUSE i dont want to sell to a black, I am within my rights. Im a racist turd if i do that, but im within my rights. Its possible to be an ass within the law, Im afraid. Some of my fellow "liberals" have difficulty grasping that. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2004-06-25 5:44:06 PM |
| #25 LH /Mike: Good points, but there is still the question of what to do. This particular mosque will no doubt be a cancer for that community. Eventually their battle may become mine. Of course, the vandalism was more than not justified, it was ineffective. |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2004-06-25 5:42:31 PM |
| #24 LH, I don't think anyone here is suggesting that vandalizing mosques is a good thing [except for a few comments made in jest]. Vandalism is a criminal action and should be prosecuted. What I have said[on another thread about a mosque being vandalized] is that vandalism of a mosque should not have any highly subjective and highly group specific "hate laws" added to the criminal sentence. IMHO, Jews and Muslims and homosexuals and females and pink skinned Albinos should not warrent any more special status and legal protections in the the eyes of the law than boring ho-hum whitey Episcopal males. With regards to the Muslims' attitude as expressed in this particular discussion thread, yes, these Muslims are entirely within their rights to protect their property rights and protect the mosque from being bought by Jews. However, it is instances like this that should serve as a teaching lesson for extreme liberals, Jews and Christians alike - not all cultures, not all religions are equal or worthy of slavish tolerance. |
| Posted by: rex 2004-06-25 5:38:00 PM |
| #23 Well said, Brother 'Hawk. We can fight the Islamofascists without becoming like them. Kids, as someone 'way smarter than me once said, the Devil often sends his lies into the world in complimentary pairs, so that in recoiling from one (e.g., touchy-feely multiculturalism that lets the Islamofascists thrive among us) we might run to embrace another (e.g., vandalism). |
| Posted by: Mike 2004-06-25 5:26:20 PM |
| #22 "So, LH, are you saying you have no problem with restrictive covenants?" I dont know enough of the law on that RC. In the US (and the above post is about Australia) the SCOTUS ruling nullified covenants about the sale of residential property based on the identiy of the buyer. Im not sure about limits on the sales of religious buildings to other religions - i think that would fly here. Of course if youre suggesting that Australia SHOULD pass a law banning such covenants or discrimination in the sale of even religous building, id look sympathetically on that. No, its vandalism I have a problem with. Im NOT justifying what the idiot Saudies are doing in this case, just saying that it doesnt justify breaking the law. You wanna take them to court, go right ahead. You can tell the difference between suing them and pouring pig fat on their mosque? |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2004-06-25 5:17:47 PM |
| #21 E-L All cultures aint wonderful. 1400 year old cultures, with 2 billion members are pretty diverse. Islam has some horrors. We WONT be stronger in fighting those horrors by giving up on the rule of law or our Western values. But if you want to run around vandalizing mosques, I cant stop you - I think you'll play right into the other side if you do that, but I still cant stop you. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2004-06-25 5:12:25 PM |
| #20 So, LH, are you saying you have no problem with restrictive covenants? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-06-25 5:10:58 PM |
| #19 BAR: This looks to be a different mosque though incidents surrounding both sound very similar, where a member is being charged with intent to commit terrorist acts. Still...not 100% sure. Anyone else? |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2004-06-25 5:09:53 PM |
| #18 Antisemite-- How much did you donate to keep the |
| Posted by: BMN 2004-06-25 5:02:15 PM |
| #17 "The Islamic community is concerned about the Judaisation of the neighbourhood and a deposit has been paid in case the mosque is sold to the Jewish community," one of their notices says. I'm kinda wondering if the mosque in question is the one in Lakemba, or is this an entirely different one? Anyone know for sure? |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-06-25 4:56:21 PM |
| #16 rex: It's good to be the king, heh heh. Naaaaah...keep the rex. After the Steve thing, we're pretty good at sortin' it all out. Welcome to Rantburg. |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2004-06-25 4:55:03 PM |
| #15 Liberalhawk thinks he can control their "tude" with his "tude." "The Nazi (oops--Islamic) community is concerned about the Judaisation of the neighbourhood . . ." they issued "warnings that Jews were trying to buy the site" for followers of "one of Australia’s most hardline Islamic clerics." Open your eyes, LH! Things don't boil over all at once--but the fire has been turned on. We can only expect them to turn it up slowly. Watch and see. What you call "intolerance" they consider their unquestionable duty to Allan--the subjucation or elimination of all infidels--especially Jews. " . . .We smug "civilized" Westerners can hug ourselves all we want about our marvie tolerance and belief that all cultures, all religions are equally wonderful and to be respected...and then the cold slap of the real world hits our pompous faces . . ." I think people prefer the comfort zone of denial, but thanks anyway, rex. |
| Posted by: ex-lib 2004-06-25 4:42:30 PM |
| #14 Questions Rantburgians: When is Howard's term up? As long as he is there, things should remain fairly sane, shouldn't they? |
| Posted by: jules 187 2004-06-25 4:35:59 PM |
| #13 No, Rex Mundi,[#10] is king of the world, whereas I am small rex [#2]of cabbage patch ville, who is relatively new to rantburg and did not know about Big Capital Rex Mundi when I started posting. Maybe on the days Rex Mundi posts, I'll post as minime. |
| Posted by: rex 2004-06-25 4:35:09 PM |
| #12 Dan: Nope. hmmmmmmm, Army of Rex. I like the sound of that. |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2004-06-25 4:34:42 PM |
| #11 #10 just curious are you also rex in #2 |
| Posted by: Dan 2004-06-25 4:28:47 PM |
| #10 LH: I hear ya but this piece goes beyond property rights. What about the right to regularly suck air without the risk of being blown to chunks simply because one prays on a differnt day (if at all)? |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2004-06-25 4:13:19 PM |
| #9 property rights? What if they decide not to EVER let any Joooos in the neighborhood? Hey, it's their property, right, LH? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-06-25 4:10:16 PM |
| #8 hang on. This is intolerance to be sure. But to place a deposit to prevent the sale of a mosque is within their legal rights. I know of a situation where an Orthodox synagogue passed a bylaw to prevent the sale of their building to a Reform or Conservative JEWISH congregation - I didnt like that tude, but its not justification for vandalism. Does accepting property rights make me a liberal?? (well, yeah, but in the sense that covers classical liberals, and only imperfectly covers modern liberals) So be it. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2004-06-25 4:08:03 PM |
| #7 Hundreds flee burning mosque June 25, 2004 - 6:05PM "More than 500 people fled an Islamic mosque in Melbourne's south-east after a suspected arson attack. Witnesses said the congregation was praying in the newly refurbished mosque at Lysterfield when fire broke out in a kitchen area about 1.30pm (AEST)." May this Mosque will suffer the same fate as the one above. |
| Posted by: Anonymous4617 2004-06-25 4:06:54 PM |
| #6 Does this not dovetail nicely with the other thread concerning a mosque being vandalized? Do we not see the greater picture here? I think the locals certainly do. "The Islamic community is concerned about the Judaisation of the neighbourhood" ahhhhhhh yes the ROP...oh and the jihad book is such a nice touch. So back to the vandals - when faced with an intolerant, hostile and possibley dangerous enclave legally entrenched in one's community what is one to do? Was the only real mistake the vandals made was in targeting the wrong mosque? Harsh times, my friends. |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2004-06-25 4:01:08 PM |
| #5 Is this the Pig Blood Moskkk, or are these terror nodes going up all over Sydney? |
| Posted by: BH 2004-06-25 4:00:47 PM |
| #4 What Frank G said. |
| Posted by: Crusader 2004-06-25 3:59:48 PM |
| #3 bring on the pig vandalism! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-06-25 3:58:31 PM |
| #2 "The Islamic community is concerned about the Judaisation of the neighbourhood and a deposit has been paid in case the mosque is sold to the Jewish community," one of their notices says. How nice we have this "tude" in print. Perhaps PC thinking liberal Jews as well as the bleeding heart Christians in Australia will pay finally pay attention. We smug "civilized" Westerners can hug ourselves all we want about our marvie tolerance and belief that all cultures, all religions are equally wonderful and to be respected...and then the cold slap of the real world hits our pompous faces like a cold noodle... |
| Posted by: rex 2004-06-25 3:54:21 PM |
| #1 The Islamic community is concerned about the Judaisation of the neighbourhood and a deposit has been paid in case the mosque is sold to the Jewish community," one of their notices says. Oops, there goes the neighborhood "ahmed, theyre not, you know, OUR TYPE" Is there really a neighborhood in Sydney thats going from muslim to Jewish???????? |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2004-06-25 3:51:33 PM |