Sydney mosque continues Hezbollah commemorations, calls for Minns’s resignation

A Sydney mosque that vowed to ‘continue’ to commemorate Hezbollah fighters has made good on its pledge after another service was held over the weekend.

Sheikh Youssef Nabha, imam of Masjid Arrahman mosque in Kingsgrove, Sydney, called on Premier Chris Minns to resign and slammed his comments about the commemorations. Picture: APP

A Sydney mosque that vowed to “continue” to commemorate Hezbollah fighters killed in Lebanon has made good on its pledge after another service was held over the weekend as its imam also called on the NSW Premier to resign.

Masjid Arrahman – also known as Al Rahman mosque, in southwest Sydney – held a commemoration service for Hezbollah fighter Najib Muhammad Ali Zahr on Saturday.

It follows a service the week prior for another three Hezbollah militants: Taha Abbas Abbas, Ali Marmar and Hussam Ibrahim.

Last week, Hezbollah announced Ali Zahr, had died while on jihad – commemorating him for “his unwavering dedication to his jihadi duty” – with a funeral service taking place in Lebanon.

The Australian previously reported how, at that first commemoration service, the mosque’s imam, Sheikh Youssef Nabha, vowed to “continue to do so (commemorate Hezbollah fighters) peacefully”.

Hezbollah announced the death of Najib Muhammad Ali Zahr on October 24, killed while fighting in Lebanon.

The Sheikh also lashed Premier Chris Minns in an “open letter” penned in the lead up to Saturday’s service, vowing to continue the ceremonies.

The Australian understands the mosque is commemorating fighters who have extended family in Sydney, or who attend the mosque, which is predominantly Lebanese membership.

“What I cannot understand is that you are warning members of our Muslim community that holding funeral gatherings for the martyrs of Lebanon and Palestine could be considered a violation of federal laws, as you claim…” the Sheikh said, adding Mr Minns should “resign before you ruin the Labor Party”.

“You are indeed setting a precedent... giving yourself the discretion to prevent people from shedding tears for their relatives in religious gatherings.”

NSW Premier Chris Minns. Picture: Nikki Short

The Sheikh revealed that Mr Minns visited the mosque “about a month” before March’s state election, although The Australian has been unable to confirm this.

The open letter comes as Mr Minns reminded the public that celebrating terrorists and commemorating their deaths could breach federal terrorism laws.

“Anyone who’s looking at holding a protest, or a commemoration service, needs to be careful that they’re not celebrating an organisation that’s a prescribed terrorist organisation by the Commonwealth government,” he said last week.

“You may be breaching laws that are in place from the federal level.”

The three Hezbollah fighters commemorated by the same mosque a week prior.

Sheikh Nabha, however, drew comparisons to US Navy SEALS after they shot and killed Osama bin Laden in an operation in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011.

“The USA listed Osama bin Laden as a terrorist, and yet they have done what should be done at the funeral of a Muslim out of respect for Islam and the feelings of Muslims around the world,” he said.

The US Navy carried out “traditional procedures for (an) Islamic burial”, an official said at the time, and 12 hours after the operation where bin Laden was shot – Islamic tradition requires the dead to be buried as soon as possible, unless an autopsy is required – before he was buried at sea.

That burial, however, was different to a commemoration service; the Hezbollah fighters commemorated by Al Rahman have all been buried in Lebanon.

The federal Criminal Code Act 1995 does not mention whether a commemoration service for a member of a recognised terror group would breach the act, although it does note that association with a terrorist group would not include “family or domestic matters”, or that which “occurs as part of public religious worship”.

AFP told budget estimates it was “monitoring” the commemorations and working with its state partners. Picture: Matthew Poon

Police Minister Yasmin Catley said the force was “continuing to monitor protest activity vigilantly and continuously engage with community groups under Operation Shelter”.

“I know NSW Police is working tirelessly to try to ensure the community’s safety – I fully support them in this important work and thank them for their efforts,” she said.

A NSW Police spokeswoman said Campsie Police Area Command were aware of the event, “and monitored it accordingly”, but that police wouldn’t need to be notified by service organisers, but that its conduct would be subject to relevant state laws.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin (front-right) in Sydney on October 29. Picture: Julian Andrews

In federal budget estimates last week, whether a Hezbollah commemoration service could constitute a criminal offence was put to the AFP.

“The threshold for those terrorism offences, particularly under the Commonwealth criminal code, is fairly high – but we’ll continue to monitor,” AFP deputy commissioner Ian McCartney said.

“We’re assessing quite a bit of information – we haven’t identified a specific direct threat, but we continue to work through those issues with ASIO, and our police partners.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said he was increasingly concerned by the continued commemorations for Hezbollah fighters.

“We cannot allow one segment of our society to view some of their fellow Australians as enemies or legitimate targets for intimidation, harassment and violence,” Mr Ryvchin said.

“It is absolutely vital that community and religious leaders act to uphold calm and civility. If they fail to do so, the impact could be catastrophic.”

The mosque was contacted for comment.