Bong owning Muslim fronts court for ‘major sin’

A Muslim man has denied letting police see photos of his sister and mother not wearing a hijab on his phone, after he was found next to a car with $93,000, a machete and cannabis in the glove box.

A bong owning Muslim found next to a car containing $93,000 in cash, who refused to provide police access to his phone because it contained images of unveiled female family members, has failed in his faith based defence despite the court finding his religious beliefs were genuinely held.

Afif Deya, 19, and two others were first approached as they stood next to a BMW on August 11 at Fruitgrove Railway Station carpark by police from the Inala Tactical Crime Squad who suspected the men were affected by cannabis, Richlands Magistrates Court heard.

Inside the car police found 5 grams of cannabis, a machete, a bong, an iPhone and $93,080 in cash in the glove box.

The iPhone belonged to Deya, one of the other men claimed ownership of the machete and no one admitted ownership or knowledge of the cash, the court heard.

Deya was charged with offences related to the small amount of cannabis and the bong and police seized his iPhone.

Police later went to his house with an order signed by a magistrate requiring him to provide the phone’s passcode.

Deya was not there but a family member called him and he was heard saying he couldn’t remember the passcode and made reference to photographs of his family members on the phone.

Deya said the male police officers could not see the photos of his sister and mother not wearing their hijab as that would be haram or sinful in his religion, the court heard.

He was later charged with contravening an order made under the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act which he pleaded not guilty to at a hearing earlier this year.

Deya told the court he was a practising member of the Islamic faith, praying five times a day and had attended the Islamic College of Brisbane.

Deya said the male police officers could not see the photos of his sister and mother not wearing their hijab as that would be haram or sinful in his religion, the court heard. Picture istock

While his mother and sister wore a hijab - especially when they mixed with people outside their home - they were not in the images on the phone and to show those photos to men not in the family would be “haram” or sinful.

He accepted that a female police officer could see the photographs and he could give the access code in those circumstances so long as it was a female, the court heard.

Imam Uzair Akbar of the Holland Park Mosque gave evidence to that effect and added that it was the responsibility of a brother to uphold and protect the honour of a female, the court heard.

Magistrate Aaron Simpson was tasked with determining whether Deya’s faith-based reason for not complying with the police order amounted to a “reasonable excuse”.

Mr Simpson was “happy to accept” Deya’s beliefs and practices were true for him and despite his other “sins” of possessing cannabis and a bong the defendant was a practising Muslim.

“To disclose a picture of a woman without a hijab being worn to any other man including an unknown police officer would bring shame on the person disclosing it and affect the dignity of the woman,” Mr Simpson said.

“It would be classed as a major sin and therefore should be avoided”

However Mr Simpson said such a sin could have been avoided by Deya giving his passcode to police so long as only female officers accessed it.

He ultimately found that a reasonable person would not regard Deya’s excuse for not giving his access code as reasonable in the circumstances “even though it was based on a belief genuinely held by him”

“It is just not reasonable using the reasonable man test,” he said in a decision published this month.

“To conclude that a religious belief, such as the one proffered by the defendant, could be seen as a reasonable excuse for non-compliance with a law that is directly aimed at uncovering serious criminal conduct is completely counter to common sense.”

Deya was found guilty of contravening the order. At the start of the hearing Deya had pleaded guilty to the offences related to the small amount of cannabis and the bong.