Mysterious anti-Islam society steps out of the shadows for its big moment

AN anti-Islam group’s stepping out of the shadows, citing more Aussie support than ever ahead of a halal lawsuit fundraiser.

Q Society president Debbie Robinson and video presenter Kirralie Smith are being sued for defamation by the Halal Certification Authority.

SECRETIVE anti-Islam group Q Society is stepping out of the shadows and embracing the limelight as it claims a groundswell of support for its controversial aims.

The divisive organisation is promoting $150-a-head fundraising dinners in Sydney and Melbourne next month, which will feature well-known speakers including George Christensen, Cory Bernardi and Angry Anderson.

And its leaders say there is more support than ever across Australia and the world for the “Islam-critical Movement”.

Q Society is raising money for a million-dollar legal battle with Halal Certification Authority chief Mohammed El-Mouelhy, who claims he was defamed by three of the group’s members in two videos.

The case has been running in the NSW Supreme Court for 12 months, but once it is complete, Q Society will turn its attention back to what it calls the fight against the “Islamisation of Australia”.

In the 2011 Census, 2.2 per cent of Australians, or 476,300 people, identified as Muslim.

The mysterious organisation’s $150-a-head dinner next month will feature Cory Bernardi and George Christensen as speakers.

‘THE ISLAM PROBLEM IS GROWING’

Deputy President Ralf Schumann told news.com.au that the opinions of the notoriously reticent society are more widely shared than ever.

A year of devastating terror attacks and subsequent support for the ideals of Donald Trump, Pauline Hanson and the Eurosceptic Brexiteers, Mr Schumann believes this is the group’s big moment to “reduce Islam” and encourage a “more human rights friendly” version of the religion.

“More people are aware, they see the problems in their backyard, their community. The public has picked up on it more with every bombing, stabbing, forced marriage and child bride.

“If you look back 10 years, you won’t read about these issues. Everything was fantastic, everyone wanted a falafel or kebab.

“With Islam, the problem grows exponentially. We’re probably 10 years behind Britain and Europe but we’re catching up fast. The main thing is to reduce the numbers, not let it grow any further and take the status out of it in our so-called multicultural society.”

The society, which launched in 2010 and has a political arm called the Australian Liberty Alliance, has powerful political support in Mr Bernardi and Mr Christensen. It regularly hosts like-minded delegations from overseas, but distances itself from the “silly” rhetoric of One Nation’s Pauline Hanson.

It is also helped bring far right-wing Dutch politician Geert Wilders to speak in Australia and is affiliated with global organisation Stop The Islamisation of Nations (SION), which was referenced in Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik’s manifesto.

The group objects to what it calls the ‘Islamisation’ of Australia.

‘PEOPLE DON’T WANT TO PUT THEIR NAMES DOWN’

Q Society has 1000 registered members across Australia who donate sums of anything from $5 to $5000, but Mr Schumann says there are many more who agree with their views but are afraid to speak out. The numbers might give us all a surprise, just like those silent Trump supporters who shocked the world with their vote.

“Not many people want to put their names down for this kind of topic given the acrimony and hysterical response we get from the Left,” says Mr Schumann.

Keysar Trad, from the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia, has said Q Society spreads “disturbing, baseless Islamophobia”.

He added: “I think most Australians would normally treat them as a joke but because there’s not enough information out there, not enough good information ... about Islam, some people unfortunately subscribe to their message.”

Mr Schumann says “Islamophobia” is a bogus concept. “It’s basic slander, the usual stuff to shut people up,” he said. “Call them a Nazi, a bigot. I don’t think it’s racist. It’s concern about one particular ideology.

“You probably don’t remember how it used to be when you boarded an aircraft, it was like getting on a train or a tram. The change is certainly not because of crazy Hindus or Jews. Terror works.”

The organisation insists it’s not trying to stop people believing in Islam, but wants its religious leaders to sign a charter rejecting extremism. The document has a foreword by the UK Independence Party’s Gerard Batten, a Member of the European Parliament.

Q Society has fought to stop the construction of mosques in Australia, crack down on halal certification schemes and impose a moratorium on residential immigration from OIC (Organisation of Islamic Co-operation) member countries, which include Afghanistan, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.

The group disseminates information by publishing books including Getting Through: How To Talk To Non Muslims About The Disturbing Nature of Islam and producing videos and guides to quashing Islam.

‘THE CROWDS HAVE GOTTEN BIGGER’

The group typically holds monthly meetings in each state, at which attendees are required to sign a nondisclosure agreement. Lately, however, their activities have been focused on the defamation case, which has cost them $300,000 in the preliminary stages and is expected to reach $1 million.

Mr Schumann calls it “lawfare” or “legal jihad” to stop Q Society carrying out its purpose.

But he’s unfazed. With rifts in the Liberal Party, the time is ripe for the group to build its alliances with high-profile dissenters like Mr Bernardi, who has worn a “Make Australia Great Again” cap and warned he wants to start a new party for disenchanted conservatives.

Mr Christensen told Parliament he was concerned about “the rise of Islamism in this country and those who are willing to commit violence in the name of that ideology”.

The next hearing in the defamation case involving Q Society’s Debbie Robinson and Halal Choices’ Kirralie Smith will come in March, and more fundraising events are planned in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

Once the case is settled, the organisation hopes to return to its usual activities with more energy and visibility than ever before, which includes holding conventions and showing sympathetic visitors from Asia, England and Israel around Australia.

“The Chinese have concerns about Islam, in the Philippines the south provinces are in flames,” says Mr Schumann. “Everywhere Islam is are problems.”

If Q Society wins its case and Mr El-Mouelhy pays damages, it will use the money to “fund free speech” and support people who are sued by “Islamist associations”.

Mr Schumann says people are warming to the cause, especially women. “The crowds have gotten bigger.”