Muslims tell Rudd to maintain hard line

[uopa]

Muslims tell Rudd to maintain hard line

MUSLIM leaders are urging the fledgling Rudd Government to maintain
the hardline stance against extremists, fearing the end of the Howard
era will embolden radicals. Sydney-based Muslim cleric Hersi Hilole
warned the Rudd administration against being "light and lenient" on
radicals. Sheik Hilole said radical Muslims could interpret John
Howard's electoral loss as an opportunity to express their ideological
beliefs openly and drum up their recruitment drive. "The extremists
will try to take every advantage that they think will be possible and
available for them and they will most probably try to spread their
ideas and recruit more people for their cause," he told The
Australian.

But Indonesian Muslim spiritual leader Amin Hady said the Rudd
Government must embrace a more inclusive approach when dealing with
the Islamic community and not sideline hardliners. He said the
previous government's unwillingness to include Islamic hardliners such
as Melbourne-based cleric Mohammed Omran on Mr Howard's Islamic
reference board was counterproductive because it further distanced an
element of the Muslim community that was most in need of integration.

Sheik Hady said Mr Rudd should work with mainstream Muslim leaders to
help his Government gain better access into the minds of hardliners.
"The Government should use mainstream leaders to approach them
(hardliners) and to bring them in line with the rest of the community
members," said the former member of Mr Howard's Islamic reference
group. "Of course, we acknowledge that there are certain extremist
groups in the Muslim society."

The Australian revealed in July that national security authorities
were aware of at least 10 hardline clerics around the country,
including Sheik Omran, who were propagating a Wahabi ideology espoused
by al-Qa'ida leader Osama bin Laden. It was also revealed that Wahabi
clerics were potentially radicalising up to 3000 young Sydneysiders
alone.

A spokesman for Sheik Omran's fundamentalist Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jammah
association said the group was optimistic the Rudd Government would be
more interested in hearing about their views and community work. "We
are all optimistic of the change of government," said Abu Yusuf. "It
opens a new chapter in dialogue between the Muslim and non-Muslim
communities."

Sheik Hilole - a respected Somali community figure who has repeatedly
attacked Australian Muslims who have travelled overseas to fight jihad
- said Mr Rudd needed to learn from Mr Howard's mistake and not
"exaggerate" the potential threat of Islamic terrorism in Australia.
"Hopefully, the Rudd Government will face the issue in a real way not
an exaggerated way," he said. "The Howard Government failed to act on
extremism appropriately ... because of the exaggeration and
generalisation of the Muslim community and many mistakes that the
national security (authorities) have done."

Source






http://groups.google.com/group/australiapoliticsmoderated