Mustapha and Diaa Kara-Ali charged with contempt of court for clearing land

Two Muslim brothers who claim their faith meant they were exempt from Australian law have laughed in court as they were fined $100,000.

Two Muslim brothers who claim Australian law does not apply to them have been fined $100,000 for contempt of court.

Mustapha and Diaa Kara-Ali reportedly laughed when the judge handed down the punishment today in Sydney’s Land and Environment Court, after they were compelled to appear for felling trees on a northwest Sydney property without council permission.

The brothers had tried to argue that the Islamic organisation they ran, Diwan Al Dawla, was exempt from Australian law on religious grounds.

They failed in their bid and were fined $100,000 for what a judge called a “flagrant” breach of a court order in relation to construction works to build a Muslim religious centre on their rural property in Colo.

They and their business were convicted on 12 charges of contempt of court.

A furious Mustapha Kara-Ali left the Court on Thursday saying: “Our religion is prime, the cross belongs in the dustbin of history.”

In his written judgment, Justice Terence Sheahan said the pair had ignored orders to appear in court and only turned up after being arrested. Mustapha had said attending court could lead to “hit squads” pursuing him.

“The Holy Koran considers justice a supreme virtue, and I assure the defendants that this court pursues that virtue in every case it deals with, just as the Holy Koran requires of its adherents,” the judge said.

Diaa was the sole director of Southern Chariot Stud Pty Ltd, which owned the property on Sydney’s rural fringe.

The brothers began building a religious site next to the Colo River and felled trees until Hawkesbury City Council intervened mid-2018, ordering them to stop the unauthorised works.

Mustapha Kara-Ali outside court where he was fined for land clearing. He had claimed Australian law did not apply to his organisation.

RELIGIOUSLY UNACCEPTABLE

The brothers failed to stop construction work on the property, which eventually included four flagpoles, a boat ramp, a wall and gates. Construction work had also begun on a series of buildings.

In September, Mustapha told the council he had an issue with the “religious symbolism of court”.

Specifically, he objected to the St George Cross on both the Australian and NSW coat of arms which, he said, harked back to the Crusades, a series of medieval religious wars between Muslim and Christian forces.

“How can it be that I’m expected to be loyal to the religious symbols of another religion, because such symbols are given coercive force?” he said in a submission last year justifying why he would not attend court.

“To be present at an adjudicating court that upholds the religious symbols of the crusades is religiously unacceptable.”

He said a religious association such as Diwan Al Dawla can “choose to not comply with state laws” in matters of religious practice.

“We believe that the NSW court’s upholding of religious symbols that represent the Crusader wars of the medieval period encourages and incites religious violence against us by a group of hit squads who share the desire to uphold their own religious symbols which they consider to be official over ours,” he said.

At one point Mustapha said a severed pig’s head had been dumped outside the gates, which was proof of a “hit squad” attack.

The court did acquiesce to the brothers’ request that the matter be sent to mediation so they could avoid being in a courtroom where the symbols they perceived as religious were present.

But, Judge Sheahan said “regrettably the follow-up proved to be to no avail” and the matter ended up back in court.

The brothers argued that the NSW coat of arms, which appears in courts in the state, was an anti-Muslim religious symbol. Picture: Damian Shaw

CURIOUS

When they still didn’t turn up of court, the pair were arrested and compelled to appear.

In his published decision, Justice Sheahan noted that in 2017 the Australian National Imams Council published advice on the judicial process and the participation of Muslims.

This stated that “Muslims in Australia must comply with the laws of that country”.

But Mustapha rejected the advice saying: “That document belongs in the trash bin. I don’t subscribe to the council and they are not worthy of being called ‘Imams’ … that council does not represent me or my religion. They are hypocrites”.

The judge replied: “If that’s your position that’s fine, but the court subscribes to the document and the court subscribes to the principles in that document.”

Justice Sheahan also noted that Muslims who take out Australian citizenship make a specific promise to “uphold and obey” the laws of Australia.

He said he acknowledged the “sincerity” of the followers of Diwan Al Dawla but said the court “does not seek to interfere with their religious commitments and practices, as such”.

He dismissed Mustapha’s assertion that he had a “basic religious freedom” to disregard planning laws or the court.

In his ruling, Justice Sheahan also said he found it “curious” the men were adamant the law did not apply to them but they were willing to take advantage of the legal system when it came to the “tax status” and “privileges” of their religious organisation.

The pair laughed as they were fined, 9 News reported.

Between them and the organisation, the court imposed fines totalling more than $100,000 relating to four contempt of court charges each.

If they are not paid by the end of June, each of them will have $2000 added to their bill each month until the fine is settled.

They will also have to show how they will rehabilitate the site.