The new mufti of Australia

Mufti doubts bin Laden role
Mark Dunn
June 12, 2007 12:00am

AUSTRALIA'S new mufti, Sheik Fehmi Naji el-Imam, won't accept that Osama bin Laden was responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States.

In his first day in the job, the cleric stuck by his long-standing view that questions whether bin Laden was behind the 2001 attacks.

"What evidence?" he said when asked if he now accepted bin Laden's role in the atrocity.

Two years ago, when asked the same question, he said: "How would I know? He's unable to be found."

His stance flies in the face of bin Laden's own confession, aired in a December 2001 video.

In it bin Laden is seen using his hands to recreate the attacks.

He gloats: "We calculated in advance the number of casualties from the enemy who would be killed on the position of the tower."

In another taped statement released in 2004, bin Laden acknowledged his direct link to the attacks, saying: "We had to destroy the towers in America so that they taste what we tasted and they stop killing our women and children.

"We agreed with the leader of the group, (hijacker) Mohammed Atta, to perform all attacks within 20 minutes before (President George W.) Bush and his administration were aware of what was going on."

In a third video in 2006, he is pictured with accused plotter Ramzi Binalshibh, while two hijackers who died in the attacks, Hamza al-Ghamdi and Wail al-Shehri appear in different segments of the video.

A 2004 report by the US 9/11 Commission found conclusively that al-Qaida was behind the attack on New York and Washington, which "was driven by Osama bin Laden".

Sheik Fehmi is widely respected as a moderate Islamic leader who has often spoken out against terrorism.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21889477-662,00.html

*UPDATE:

I’m still in control, says Hilaly

Sydney Morning Herald

Linda Morris Religious Affairs Writer

June 12, 2007

THE loss of the title mufti of Australia has not silenced Taj el-Din al Hilaly. “I have a bigger playing field. Now I’ve got more freedom,” he said yesterday. “My role is not finished.”

And if anyone thought the power base of Muslims might shift to Melbourne, the home of Australia’s new mufti, Fehmi Naji el-Imam, they might better think “Lak-Canberra”.

“Control will always be in Lakemba,” Sheik Hilaly said from his office attached to Lakemba Mosque, where he remains imam and very much the centre of his own empire.

The Foreign Affairs Minister, Alexander Downer, said the sheik had done “a very bad job”. “I know many Muslims who have been embarrassed by him and have felt he hasn’t done Islamic Australia any good at all. Him standing down and a new mufti taking over, it has to be a step forward,” Mr Downer told Sky News.

But 24 hours after the leadership reshuffle, Sheik Hilaly was in fighting spirit. Remaining in the honorary position had become almost impossible for the sheik after he compared immodest women to uncovered meat, a quote he said was taken out of context.

Speaking through an interpreter, he accused unnamed federal and state politicians of orchestrating his exit, and said his stance on Israel and the US had conflicted with “Zionist-inspired interests”. Read the rest of this post »

h/t: http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com/

**UPDATE:

Bin Laden backer blasted
By Mark Dunn and Evelyn Yamine
June 12, 2007

THE refusal by Australia's new Mufti to accept Osama bin Laden was responsible for the September 11 attacks has sparked a mass brawl online.

In his first day in the job, the cleric Sheik Fehmi Naji el-Imam stuck by his long-standing view questioning whether bin Laden was behind the 2001 attacks.

"What evidence?" he said when asked if he now accepted bin Laden's role in the atrocity.

Two years ago, when asked the same question, he said: "How would I know? He's unable to be found."

More than one hundred outraged readers have written to this website to protest - while others are backing his call.

Some have even suggested that, far from the al-Qaeda leader organising the 2001 attacks on the US, it was the American Government itself.

"To all you people who do not beleive there were more people involved in 911 should have a look at loose change 911 it does open your eyes and there is many questions that need to be answered," posted Adam of Sydney.

On the other hand, Mark of Cremorne writes: "Anyone who states that Osama Bin Laden is not guilty of the cowardly September 11 attack 'after he admitted to it' is not worth listening too. Of course it is fine to have an opinion, but not when it insults a whole society's viewpoint."

The Mufti's stance flies in the face of bin Laden's own confession, aired in a December 2001 video.

Despite his remarks regarding the September 11 attacks, Sheik Fehmi is widely respected as a moderate Islamic leader who has often spoken out against terrorism.

Read the rest:
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21891258-5006009,00.html