May 31, 2024
Radical southwest Sydney clerics have continued to preach extremist sermons "emboldened" as critics slammed the government for inaction amid rising anti-Semitism and "ineffective" hate-speech laws.
One cleric called Israel the new "SS and Nazi Germany", adding that democracy was "rotten" and multi-faith societies were full of sin, and that anyone who supported the Jewish homeland, even just verbally, should "sit and wait" for punishment from Allah.
Governments are scrambling to strengthen "ineffective" hatespeech laws amid what Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles called the "worst anti-Semitism" in decades.
The federal government said it was preparing to legislate stronger hate-speech provisions, possibly expanding the breadth of criminality and introducing new penalties. A NSW government review into its own "inoperable" hatespeech provisions, instigated in January, is expected to reveal its recommendations soon.
The Australian can reveal that Abu Ousayd's Al Madina Dawah Centre, a radical fringe Islamic centre in Bankstown, has continued to host extremist sermons to hundreds of members, accelerating since the Wakeley terror incident in April.
"I find it amusing people trying to draw comparisons between Israel and the Islamic State; the only comparison should be Israel to that of Hitler and Nazi Germany," Mr Ousayd told a packed Al Madina Dawah crowd this month.
"The Israel Defence Forces are the new SS (the Nazi paramilitary organisation) and the Holocaust is that (by Israel) on Palestine." Mr Ousayd, also known as Wissam Haddad, has given a raft of incendiary sermons at his centre since October 7, and routinely lashed mainstream Islamic and community leaders who have shunned and distanced themselves from the fringe group.
In the same sermon, he warned of "punishment" for anyone, in any form, supporting Israel.
"Anyone who supports Israel, whether verbally, with money, or any type of support is a criminal," he said.
"So sit and wait, soon Allah will send punishment upon you." It prompted opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson to ask how severe hate speech had to get to force governments into action.
"(Prime Minister) Anthony Albanese's weakness and the federal government's failure to enforce its anti-incitement laws has emboldened extremists to escalate their attacks on the Jewish community," he said. "This runs the very great risk of further radicalising elements of our community and putting Australians at risk.
"We've already had several teenagers arrested on terrorism charges. How bad does it have to get before the federal government actually acts?" Mr Ousayd has, alongside other preachers at the centre, fixated on April's terror incident in the southwest Sydney suburb of Wakeley, also calling democracy "rotten" and Israel an "illegal Jewish state".
A boy, 16, was charged with a terror offence after allegedly stabbing Assyrian Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, who sustained, but recovered from, injuries.
Police later launched raids to break up what they alleged was a teen terror cell, with six boys arrested and charged.
"To this bishop, and to anyone like him, we say we have not and will not forget your insults, lies and slander against our religion," Mr Ousayd said.
"... Those who insult Allah, (he) has cursed them in this world and in the after. This is the outcome for those who attack Islam." Mr Ousayd, who ran the nowdefunct radical Al Risalah bookstore, frequented by men who went on to commit atrocities in Syria, also slammed multicultural societies, saying that it had "re-established shirk", and "corruption and evil".
NSW's section 93z, which outlaws inciting religious-based violence, has been ineffectual in stemming a tide of hate since October 7. The recommendations of a review into that provision, a NSW government spokesman said, were expected "soon".
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry lodged vilification complaints against Mr Ousayd and his centre at the Australian Human Rights Commission regarding his previous sermons. It is understood the cleric has lawyered up, enlisting legal representatives who have been in touch with the AHRC on his behalf.
In March, at the instigation of the proceedings, ECAJ co-chief executive Peter Wertheim said: "We are taking this action not only to defend the honour of our community but also to protect the future of Australia as a peaceful and socially-cohesive society." Mr Ousayd posted the complaint on his Instagram account alongside an anti-Semitic cartoon of a Jewish person, appearing to make light of the complaint and rubbishing its severity.
