Fringe, extremist actors don’t speak for wider community, says Muslim leader Jamal Rifi

A prominent Muslim leader has made clear that extremist figures on the fringes do not speak for the community, saying nefarious actors sought to divide by taking advantage of emotion.

Dr Jamal Rifi has criticised the rhetoric and made it clear the groups did not speak for or to the wider Muslim community. Picture: Britta Campion

A prominent Muslim leader says extremist figures lurking in the fringes do not speak for the wider community, and nefarious actors seek to divide by taking advantage of emotion and frustration.

The comments come as The Weekend Australian revealed how radical cleric Abu Ousayd and extremist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir had simultaneously preached against Australia’s democracy, calling it a sin, while urging members of the community to boycott elections.

Jamal Rifi, a respected community leader and key figure in historical deradicalisation efforts, said neither Mr Ousayd and his Al Madina Dawah Centre nor Hizb ut-Tahrir spoke for the community.

“They’re very fringe, it’s the battle of ideas … the majority of Muslims are very happy in Australia and with the democratic process, and they’re not going to be impacted by such ideas,” Dr Rifi said. “The majority of Australian Muslims do vote, do engage. (We) have sizeable presentations at local, state and federal governments.”

Dr Rifi said the rhetoric from Mr Ousayd and Hizb ut-Tahrir member Wassim Doureihi was not new but, importantly, their words had no resonance among the community.

“Australian citizens of the Islamic faith … should follow their trusted religious leaders and community organisations,” he said.

“And we’ve seen (this type of) talk since 2014 and the beginning of the so-called Islamic State. They have been peddling these ideas ever since but they haven’t made any inroads whatsoever (within the community).

“These two people (Mr Ousayd and Mr Doureihi) are probably self-taught, (they have) no qualifications, and our community has developed a teflon skin so that these ideas reflect back and aren’t going to have a hold.”

Hizb ut-Tahrir has been banned in Britain, Germany, Pakistan and Egypt, among others, and Dr Rifi said it had been shunned and banned elsewhere in the Islamic world.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil on Thursday said the government would await advice from security agencies on listing Hizb ut-Tahrir and would not commit to any designation.

Another member of Sydney’s Muslim community, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Hizb ut-Tahrir had been able to fester in Australia. “In Arab and Islamic countries, they suppressed Hizb ut-Tahrir, abolished it, and banned it,” he said, describing the group as “drinking from Australia’s well” while “throwing stones into it”. “Here, Australia allows them to work, but they want to change its laws, kill its democracy, and overthrow its regime.”

Abu Ousayd, also known as Wissam Haddad.

Hizb ut-Tahrir member Wassim Doureihi.

Dr Rifi said fringe figures “rode a wave of sentiment” and took advantage of a crisis, and their aim, in part, was to “grab headlines”.

“Unfortunately, this type of rhetoric fuels Islamophobia and attacks on Muslim women, our communities and mosques,” he said. “Our community over the years has instilled the right ideas … (on) how to be true citizens of Australia, undertake civic duties, respect Australian law, its Constitution and enjoy its democracy.”

The Australian on Tuesday revealed the anti-democratic preachings of Mr Ousayd and Hizb ut-Tahrir’s Mr Doureihi at concurrent but separate events in southwest Sydney. One of the events took place in the electorate of Industrial Relations Minister Tony Burke, who said Australia stood united against any attempt to undermine its democracy.