Imam’s warning as bikie Rami Iskander buried after execution in front of family

A firebrand Islamic preacher has warned gangland violence could soon erupt at gravesites as Rami Iskander, the young nephew of slain underworld figure Brownie Ahmad, was buried.

An impassioned Islamic imam has issued a rousing plea for peace among warring gangsters amassed at the gravesite of slain Rami Iskander in a bid to reverse escalating gangland bloodshed on the streets of Sydney.

Firebrand motivational speaker Mohamed Hoblos warned mourners gathered around the low ranking criminal’s burial plot at Rookwood Cemetery, “I’m not with this crew or that crew, this family or that family. I’m with Allah only.

“You mark my words, they are gonna start shooting people at funerals.

“They’re shooting in front of kids. There is no limits … They kill each other. Why? Why! It’s so harsh. This is our community. It’s wrong!

Speaking after the funeral, he told the Daily Telegraph: “Muslims killing Muslims, really Muslims killing Muslims?

Shooting victim Rami Iskander is buried after being gunned down on his driveway.

Mourners at Rookwood Cemetery.

“We glorify this life, we love this image, there are no gangsters in Jannah my brothers let me give you the news now, no gangsters in paradise.

“Paradise is for those who fear Allah.

Iskander’s coffin is unloaded at Rookwood Cemetery.

Spirited preacher Mohamed Hoblos, who spoke at the funeral, has frequently rallied young Muslim men and called for peace and forgiveness. Picture: Facebook

“Paradise is for those who lived the life according to Allah.

“They wanted to prove a point, now who pays the price, the mother and the father and the brother and the wife and the children and the brothers and sisters and their lives have been changed for life, because someone wanted to be a bad boy.”

As dozens of white balloons were released into the sky, the family of the 23-year-old nephew of executed kingpin Mahmoud ‘Brownie’ Ahmad wiped tears from their eyes and clamoured to touch the green-painted coffin shrouded in gold embroidered cloth as it was lowered into the earth.

The young man’s casket was lowered into the earth beside his uncle’s fresh grave in the Islamic section of the rambling cemetery.

Mourners paid their respects at Lakemba Mosque.

Floral tributes were laid.

There was almost a sense of deja vu as young father Iskander - who was gunned down in the latest underworld-linked killing to occur on Sydney’s streets - was farewelled by a crowd of mourners on Wednesday morning.

More than 200 mourners jostled to touch the green coffin of low ranking criminal Rami Iskander, 23, as it was carried out of Lebanese Muslim Association parlour into a hearse and spirited to Rookwood Cemetery.

Shrouded in an ornate embroidered cloth, the coffin was gently loaded into the hearse as mourners prayed touching foreheads with their hands and one woman covered her mouth to stifle her own cries.

Honouring Islamic tradition, Iskander was buried as soon as possible, preceded by a simple ritual involving bathing and shrouding the body, followed by salah.

Rami Iskander. Picture: Facebook

With a heavy armed police presence of more than ten patrolling officers, marked cars and an overhead helicopter, the funeral passed peacefully despite police fears of a reprisal gang attack.

Iskander was shot dead in front of his pregnant wife at his Belmore home in the early hours of Saturday morning – the third assassination of its kind in the past three weeks.

One of those killings was Iskander’s uncle, Mahmoud “Brownie” Ahmad, who was shot dead in Greenacre on April 27.

Police at the scene of Iskander’s home where he was shot dead. Picture: Monique Harmer

Only last week Omar Zahed farewelled on the steps of Lakemba Mosque packed with mourners vying to carry the coffin out of the service.

Iskander was today buried at Rookwood Cemetery as police looked on, just days after Ahmad and Zahed were interred.

Omar Zahed. Picture: Facebook

Gangster Mahmoud ‘Brownie’ Ahmad.

NSW Police are continuing to investigate potential links between the attack on Omar Zahed and his high-ranking Comanchero brother Tarek at Bodyfit gym in Auburn, and the attack on Iskander.

Some underworld sources believe Iskander was targeted as part of a tit-for-tat war between the Ahmads and the Comanchero, who are supported by the Alameddine crime clan.

No arrests have been made in relation to any of the three recent shootings so far.

There have been a total of 13 fatal shootings on Sydney’s streets in the past 18 months, many of them linked to the feud between the Alameddine and Hamzy clan.