Hizb ut-Tahrir-linked Lakemba cleric revealed as ‘Brother Muhammad’ in online videos

When a mysterious ‘Brother Muhammad’ delivered a fiery sermon last year at Bankstown, no one knew who he was. Now he — and his radical links — have been exposed.

A radical Islamic preacher who attracted notoriety last year for a sermon calling for a Muslim army and an Islamic state with sharia law under a “final solution” can be revealed to be a regular speaker at events run by extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir.

The cleric was known only as “Brother Muhammad” last December when he delivered a widely condemned sermon at the Bankstown Al Madina Dawah Centre.

In his speech — which also wrongly claimed Israel used AI to target children — he claimed the Israel-Palestine conflict had to be a “spark for the Muslim community and the final solution, to unite (under one leader) who implements sharia and sends Muslim armies to defend the land of Islam”.

Now it can be revealed that “Brother Muhammad” is Brother Mohammed Trad, who runs You Tube and Instagram accounts featuring videos of his talks, and has been a regular featured speaker with Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia and has attended their rallies.

On Monday night, videos on Brother Mohammed Trad’s YouTube account, which had had included the Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia logo, were removed.

"Brother Muhammad" delivers a sermon calling for a Muslim army at Sydney's Al Madina Dawah Centre on December 15. Picture: YouTube

Brother Mohammed Trad as featured in a recent video posted by Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia on their Instagram page.

Hizb ut-Tahrir, a banned terrorist organisation in the UK, is still legal in Australia.

But it has come under scrutiny in recent days after revelations it was active on the grounds of Sydney University amongst the anti-Israel protest encampments. Mostly banned in the Middle East, the movement calls for a global Muslim Caliphate based on Sharia law.

The Al Madina Dawah Centre, in Bankstown, where Brother Mohammed gave a contentious sermon last year. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

On October 16, the Instagram account Tahrirul-Ummah, the Australian chapter of Hizb ut-Tahrir, posted a clip of Brother Mohammed Trad with the heading “Palestine - The Cornerstone of the War Between Islam and Kufr - Part 1”.

On November 16, Hizb ut-Tahrir posted a video of their rally in Canberra titled March to the Muslim Embassies in Australia to Call for the Mobilisation of Muslim Armies, which featured Brother Mohammed Trad speaking.

The group has also regularly featured him as a Friday night speaker at its Canterbury Road, Lakemba home base and use him in their marketing materials as “Brother Mohammed Trad”.

The Zionist Federation of Australia called for Hizb ut-Tahrir to be banned in Australia.

“What’s become clear is that in addition to the university encampments and pro-Palestine movements, Hizb ut Tahrir is infiltrating mosques,” president Jeremy Leibler said.

“It’s proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom and banned in Germany, but has secretly tricked thousands of Australians into extremism, plugging its hatred of Jews into the mainstream.

“It must be proscribed as a terrorist organization just as it has been banned in the UK and Germany.”

The Bankstown Al Madina Dawah Centre and Brother Mohammed Trad have been contacted for comment.

Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the government condemned the “hateful comments by members of Hizb ut-Tahrir”.

“There is no place in Australia for such disgraceful statements or the glorification of terrorism.”

Asked if he would ban the group, he responded that the government took advice from “our security and intelligence agencies about whether to list organisations, and we don’t speculate publicly about that process”.

There is no connection between Brother Mohammed Trad and Sheikh Mohammad Trad, who is well respected, and is attached to the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils.

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