Muslim children should not be forced to sing the Australian anthem and “de-radicalisation” is an agenda of forced assimilation, hundreds of Islamic men, women and children were told this morning.
More than 500 people flocked to a forum in south-western Sydney addressing the “criminalisation” of the Islamic community in Australia.
Organised by the controversial group Hizb ut-Tahrir (HuT) – the organisation that former prime minister Tony Abbott wanted banned – the conference includes eight speakers.
Among them is Ismail al-Wahwah, the Sydney-based leader of HuT, who was filmed in two sermons last year describing Jews as the “hidden evil” and calling for a “jihad against the Jews”.
The conference hall, at The Bellevue function centre in Bankstown, was packed out.
It began on Sunday morning with a recitation from the Koran and the screening of a short video depicting the fictional path of a young Muslim from skipping an Anzac Day ceremony to their home being raided by police.
The first speaker, Uthman Badar, asked why Muslim children should be “forced” to sing the Australian anthem, which presents a “disputed view of history”.
Deradicalisation, the HuT spokesman said, was an “agenda of forced assimilation … justified by exaggerated fears of a security threat”.
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It was a “myth” that terrorism was a Muslim phenomenon, Mr Badar said.
Inside a glossy, 36-page booklet, distributed at the forum, one section tutors the community in how to respond when ASIO comes knocking.
Titled Don’t be Spooked: How to Deal with Spies, it cautions against befriending people with unexplained pasts.
“They appear out of the abyss, with pasts that either cannot be explained or do not make sense,” the article reads.
“Keep your guard up in such cases.”
It also warns against interacting with unknown people online – these, too, could be spooks.
And it reminds Muslims that they are under no obligation to meet anyone from ASIO unless they have a warrant.
“If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to hide! Why the need to meet with an agency that treats the entire community as possessors of knowledge of criminal activities or similar?” it states.
“Even if the spooks turn up on your door step (again, not an uncommon occurrence), politely decline their request to talk and insist on your legal right not to.”
source:theherald.com.au
STUDIO 3 NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA 