Radical group bans questions
Threatened with a federal ban, leaders of radical Islamist Group Hizb ut-Tahrir faced the cameras to protest.
Sitting among their members we found Bilal Merhi, who sparked national outrage when a video of him leading children in extremist chants was aired on Seven News four months ago.
Merhi is a leader of the Muslim Youth Project, the youth arm of Hizb ut-Tahrir. In the audience at that event with the children was Sydney Seige terrorist Man Haron Monis.
And last night, senior Hizb ut-Tahrir preacher Bilal Merhi was back in the very room where he led the chanting children.
Merhi refused to answer questions put to him.
Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesmen Wasim Dourehi gave a 20 minute speech condemning the Federal Government's plan to ban the group, then opened the floor to questions – sort of.
When Seven News asked what the group planned to do if the ban went ahead, we were told by spokesman Hamzah Qureshi, “Bryan, we're not going to be taking any questions from you because you consistently peddle lies and fabrications,” prompting rousing applause.
Despite inviting all media to their press conference in Western Sydney, both Channel Seven and News Limited's Daily Telegraph were forbidden from asking questions and branded “liars”.
“Hizb ut-Tahrir is no stranger to media fabrications, but the question is who is going to rest the hand of such dangerous ideologues,” Dourehi told the crowd.
The Abbott Government is expected to table new laws in parliament next week that will pave the way for Hizb ut-Tahrir to be banned.
“His (Tony Abbott’s) announcements have little to do with National Security and everything to with personal job security,” Dourehi said.
While refusing to condemn Islamic State’s brutal killing spree in Iraq and Syria, Mr Dourehi said Hizb ut-Tahrir is not violent and the new laws would set a dangerous precedent in Australia.
“It is a shameful day in the history of this country that its leaders can so openly and unashamedly talk about the introduction of a two-tiered legal system in this country, one rule for Muslims and another for everybody else,”Dourehi said.
Ironically, the “urgent” press conference was called to rail against the Prime Minister’s criticism of the comments of the Grand Mufti of Australia, Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed, who last week told Seven News he did not support the banning of Hizb ut-Tahrir.
However Dr Ibrahim and Australian National Imams Council, which represents Australia’s 500,000 Muslims, did not add their support to Hizb ut-Tahrir’s written statement.
News break - February 20
