United in Hate
AUSTRALIA'S Sunni Muslims have pushed aside ideological differences with their Shia counterparts to form a united front against Israel and declare their support for the Iranian-backed terrorist network Hezbollah.
The unity among the two Muslim sects, which have been at war with each other for centuries, comes as the nation's Jewish community accuses top Shia spiritual leader Kamal Mousselmani of creating hatred towards Jews by calling Israel a "terrorist" state and expressing his allegiance to Hezbollah militants.
The Howard Government yesterday also accused Sheik Mousselmani of sending the wrong message to his followers through his adverse views on Israel.
Sunni Muslim leader and community spokesman Keysar Trad yesterday said his sect largely championed Sheik Mousselmani's support for Hezbollah (Party of God), which was revealed by The Weekend Australian.
"Sunnis outside of Lebanon, yes, they still have a great deal of respect for Hezbollah," he said.
But Mr Trad, who does not believe the Lebanese-based Hezbollah is a terrorist group, said Sunni Muslims in Lebanon were less inclined to back the terrorist organisation because of political differences with the Shi'ites.
But Mr Trad, who does not believe the Lebanese-based Hezbollah is a terrorist group, said Sunni Muslims in Lebanon were less inclined to back the terrorist organisation because of political differences with the Shi'ites.
"I don't believe that Hezbollah is a terrorist organisation," he said. "I agree with (Mousselmani) that the state of Israel has ... consistently engaged in acts of terror which have brought a great deal of pain to the poor Palestinian population and the Lebanese population."
The new mufti of Australia, Sunni spiritual leader Fehmi Naji el-Imam, last year called Hezbollah militants "freedom fighters" during an anti-war rally in Melbourne. Sheik Fehmi's spokesman said yesterday the cleric could not be reached.
Sunni Muslim spiritual leaders contacted by The Australian, including several who formerly served on John Howard's Islamic advisory council, yesterday refused to put their support for Hezbollah on the record for fear of upsetting the federal Government and jeopardising future community funding.
A senior Sydney-based cleric who refused to be named said "you won't see any Muslim standing with Israel against Hezbollah even if they hate Hezbollah's politics".
The Australia-Israel and Jewish Affairs Council executive director, Colin Rubenstein, said Sheik Mousselmani was an embarrassment to his community whose views brought into sharp focus the Shia extremism on which Hezbollah was founded.
"One would think that the sheik should be telling his followers to obey Australian law rather than being so supportive of such an organisation with such an appalling track record," he said.
Hezbollah's military arm, the External Security Organisation, is a proscribed terrorist organisation in Australia, and supporting Hezbollah's political and military wings is illegal under UN counter-terrorist financing declarations.
Dr Rubenstein said Hezbollah was committed to the destruction of Israel and espoused "genocidal intentions for Jews everywhere".
This follows The Weekend Australian's revelations in which Sheik Mousselmani attacked the Howard Government's support for Israel against Arabs and said Hezbollah was a resistance group, not a terrorist network.
It was also revealed that national security authorities have stepped up their investigations into the nation's Shia community, whose members were not as closely monitored as Sunni Muslims.
Attorney-General Philip Ruddock yesterday said Israel was entitled to exist and the federal Government's foreign policy was against any terrorist group that threatened Israel's sovereignty.
"Those who threaten its sovereignty do so, in our view, in breach of international law and we've always counselled not only Hezbollah but Hamas and Fatah to recognise the right of Israel to exist," he said.
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