Muslim 'Cleric' Arrested for Sending Hate Mail to Families of Dead Australian Soldiers
THE TELEGRAPH: A self-styled Muslim cleric is facing up to 14 years in jail after he was accused of sending hate mail to the families of Australian soldiers killed fighting in Afghanistan.

Police charged a 45-year-old man from Sydney, named in local press as Sheikh Haron, with sending "harassing and offensive letters to family members of soldiers killed whilst serving in Afghanistan."

One letter was reportedly delivered to a grieving widow at her husband's funeral. Another, allegedly written to the family of a commando killed in January, read: "I feel bad that you have lost your son but I don't feel bad that a murderer of innocent civilians has lost his life."

Mr Haron is accused of sending letters to the families of seven soldiers who died in Afghanistan, calling them "criminals", "murderers" and "killers" who were fighting a war of invasion.

He described one of the deceased soldiers, a Jewish man, as a "1,000 times worse" than a pig and a "murderer of innocents."

"Some people don't eat the meat of a pig but they are dirtier than (a) pig," Mr Haron wrote of Private Greg Sher, according to The Australian newspaper.

"What's the point if some people don't eat pork while their behaviour is worse than dirty animals? Why should we call a pig a hero?" he allegedly wrote.

Felix Sher, Greg's father, said the letter deeply shocked his family.

"Anti-semitism isn't something that is strange to us," Mr Sher said.

"However, what really affected us was when we found out it went to people like Breanna Till, and people like that - that's what hurts more. Why would these people be subject to such abuse?" >>> Bonnie Malkin in Sydney | Thursday, October 22, 2009

Hate Cleric, Abu Qatada, Issues Rallying Cry from Prison
Abu Qatada is considered to be the most dangerous jihadi and ideologue to have operated from Britain. He has smuggled a letter out of prison which has inflamed radicals around the world. Photo courtesy of TimesOnline
TIMESONLINE: The extremist cleric Abu Qatada has issued a 6,000-word rallying cry to his followers from inside one of Britain’s most secure prison units.

The Palestinian preacher hails the “victory” of the Mujahidin and claims that his treatment has helped to radicalise a new generation of young British Muslims.

Despite demanding his freedom, he says that “the gift of prison” has helped him to lose more than 50lb (22kg) in weight. He even suggests that a vigorous exercise programme appears to have cured his diabetes and back trouble.

The cleric boasts of being told by Bilal Abdullah, the NHS doctor jailed for the car bomb attacks in London and Glasgow in 2007, that he was heavily influenced by the cleric’s taped sermons. He describes the bomber, who narrowly failed in his attempts to blow up a nightclub and airport terminal, as “truthfully a man from the men of Islam, in knowledge, action, steadfastness and manhood”.

His communiqué was smuggled out of Long Lartin high-security jail, Worcestershire, and is circulating on jihadi websites and forums, where it is attracting widespread comment. The ease with which it has been distributed is an embarrassment for Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, who is in charge of prisons, and Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, who leads the Government’s counter-terrorism strategy. >>> Sean O’Neill, Crime and Security Editor and Richard Ford, Home Correspondent | Saturday, April 4, 2009