We urge the government to review its stance towards Hizb ut-Tahrir and consider banning it as is the case in Germany, Russia, China, Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan and most Arab countries
Editorial
The Australian Jewish News
September 10, 2020
This is sadly not the first time The AJN has had to report on an antisemitic, inciteful, violence-provoking speech by Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia spiritual leader Ismail al-Wahwah.
Recorded in 2017 but uploaded to his YouTube channel in July this year, the latest rant includes threats to behead Arab leaders who recognise West Jerusalem as a part of Israel and that the day will come when Jews “will cry blood”.
It comes after a vile rant on January 24 this year in response to world leaders attending the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, in which he said, “You are not allowed to talk about the holocaust against Muslims,” but only “the one that [the Jews] claim, exaggerate, blow out of proportion, lie about, and milk [the West] over in order to accomplish their goals”.
That followed a 2015 video in which al-Wahwah called all Jews corrupt and a “hidden evil” and said “the ember of jihad against the Jews will continue to burn”. In another video, he said, “They [Jews] will pay with blood for blood, with tears for tears, and with destruction for destruction.”
Such incitement to violence has no place in a modern, multicultural and tolerant country like Australia.
We urge the federal government to review its stance towards Hizb ut-Tahrir and consider banning it as is the case in Germany, Russia, China, Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan and most Arab countries.
Al-Wahwah has never faced prosecution for any of his prior rants because NSW’s previous laws were inadequate, leading the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies to successfully spearhead the “Keep NSW Safe” campaign for the legislation to be overhauled.
Now, the new laws, which carry a penalty of three years imprisonment for publicly threatening or inciting violence on grounds of race, religious affiliation and a number of other identifiers, will face their first test.
With the NSW attorney-general having referred the matter to the police, all multicultural communities in the state will be watching very closely to see what becomes of the investigation and any subsequent prosecution.
It is time to draw a line in the sand.
