Extremists with Caliphate on Their Minds, Not Bombs in Their Belts
'All we do is talk,' Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman Uthman Badar says. Photo: The Australian
THE AUSTRALIAN: Islamist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir eschews violence, but it has no problem with incendiary rhetoric about the demise of Western democracy

WITH his neat beard, wire-rimmed glasses and woollen suit coat over a checked sweater, Uthman Badar has the look of a youthful professor. But the words of the mild-mannered economics PhD student sipping hot chocolate at a Turkish cafe in western Sydney carry the zeal of a revolutionary.

"Democracy is a bankrupt and irrational idea" and "all indicators are pointing to the decline and inevitable collapse of Western ideology", Badar opines. In the meantime, those dedicated to justice and progress must struggle against "those who seek to live decadent lives off the sweat and blood of the vast majority of humanity".

Badar is spokesman for the Australian branch of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an international Islamist organisation dedicated to the creation of a transnational Islamic state governed purely by sharia law. In pursuit of that vision, he and an expected 1000 fellow HT members will gather in Sydney this weekend for an international conference to promote their cause.

As Badar knows, Australia's spy agency ASIO and counter-terrorism authorities will be keeping a close eye on the event. HT is banned in many countries and, while it has avoided being outlawed in Australia, the views it espouses are regarded by the authorities as dangerously extreme.

Badar insists Australians have nothing to fear, as HT is "avowedly nonviolent" and has no wish to make Australia part of its caliphate. "All we do is talk," he says.

A contrary view is this assessment from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute: "HT's platform forbids its members from acts of terror. There's no clear evidence of HT engaging in the preparation of terrorism. HT's incitement and encouragement of religious hatred may be enough, however, to convince Islamists to perpetrate terrorist acts."

ASIO will no doubt find plenty to listen to as HT members from Australia and abroad discuss subjects such as the Western push to ban the burka, the Australian government's role in "the war on Islam", and the campaign for a caliphate, described as "the obligation of the age". >>> Sally Neighbour, The Australian | Saturday, July 03, 2010

Deported Cleric Mansour Leghaei Returns to Iran
Mansour Leghaei at home in Sydney with his wife, Marzieh, and daughter, Fatima, 14, before they were deported to Iran yesterday. Photograph: The Australian
THE AUSTRALIAN: MANSOUR Leghaei -- the Sydney Islamic cleric accused of spying for Iran -- will arrive back in his birth country today after being deported.

The father of four flew out of Sydney last night with his wife and 14-year-old daughter Fatima after a long campaign by Australian supporters from across the religious divide failed to sway the federal government against the deportation decision.

"I'm going to miss everyone so much," Dr Leghaei said yesterday after packing up his home in Sydney's inner west.

The sheik's three sons will remain in Australia.

"I will not only miss my children -- my flesh and blood -- but I will also miss the Muslim community and the wider community, the Christian community and all the other Australians who have been amazingly supportive," he said.

"I don't think I will find better friends anywhere."

Dr Leghaei, an imam at the Shia Imam Husain Islamic Centre at Earlwood in Sydney's inner west, was ordered to leave Australia after ASIO issued an adverse security assessment when he applied for permanent residence in 1995.

But neither ASIO nor the government will tell him the reasons behind the decision, saying they are not required to because he is not an Australian citizen. >>> Jodie Minus, The Australian | Monday, June 28, 2010

Deported Sheik on His Way to See Dying Mother
THE AUSTRALIAN: AFTER arriving in Iran yesterday, Mansour Leghaei -- the Islamic cleric deported from Australia -- was determined to see his dying mother.

The Sydney cleric was deported after being black-listed by ASIO.

The sheik flew out of Sydney on Sunday night with his wife and 14-year-old daughter Fatima, en route to his birth country after a decade-long battle with the Australian authorities over his residency.

Dr Leghaei's supporters said yesterday they did not know his detailed plans for the future, but knew he wished to visit his mother, who is battling leukaemia, "as soon as he got back".

"He said his only plans were to see his mum and dad as soon as he got back into the country," said Anglican priest Dave Smith, who is a long-time supporter of Dr Leghaei. >>> Lanai Vasek, The Australian | Tuesday, June 29, 2010

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Sheikh Mansour Leghaei and family. Photo: Google Images
Show of Force as Hundreds Gather to Farewell Departing Sheikh
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: AT 9.50pm tomorrow a plane will leave Sydney carrying Sheikh Mansour Leghaei, two hours and 10 minutes before his deadline to leave the country voluntarily - or be deported.

As many as 500 Muslims and Christians will gather tonight to farewell Dr Leghaei, the Iranian Shiite preacher who has raised his four children in Sydney for the past 16 years, but who ASIO has accused of undisclosed ''acts of foreign interference''.

The supporters will meet at the Imam Husain Islamic Centre, in Earlwood, which Dr Leghaei opened in 1999, two years after ASIO made its first adverse security assessment against him and blocked his attempt to become an Australian citizen.

''If you came to the centre, all you would see is tears and tears and tears,'' he said as he packed to leave this week. ''People are asking why has the government been so cruel to the community, to me and my family without any explanation or justification.''

Insisting he is no spy or terrorist, the banished sheikh will return to his home city of Esfahan, in Iran, with his wife, Marzieh, and their youngest child, the Australian-born Fatima, 14. Dr Leghaei hopes to resume work as a university lecturer while he awaits a United Nations committee's decision on wether Australia has denied his human rights under its international treaty obligations.

He still holds out hope that if the committee finds in his favour, Australia will allow him to return. His three sons, in their 20s, will remain in Sydney. >>> Rick Feneley | Saturday, June 26, 2010

Sheikh Mansour Leghaei
ABC Local: Sheik Mansour Leghaei is Imam at the Imam Husain Islamic Centre in Earlwood in Sydney's inner south west. He has been a resident in Australia for 16 years, and his children regard this country as home. For more than a decade, Dr Leghaei has been contesting in the courts two adverse security assessments issued by ASIO. It is understood the agency believes the cleric works for the Iranian authorities.

As Dr. Leghaei is not an Australian citizen, no reason needs to be provided by Australia's security services for the deportation. As a non-citizen, he has no right to procedural fairness or natural justice in a matter of national security. Dr Leghaei's final legal appeal against deportation was rejected by the Migration Appeals Tribunal last month. He was then given a bridging visa allowing him to stay in Australia until April 19 (just a week away) while Immigration Minister Chris Evans considers his case. Dr Leghaei has one week left on that visa. Otherwise, Dr Leghaei, his wife and one of their four children will be forced back to Iran. >>> | Sunday, April 11, 2010

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