Abbott hoses down Hizb ut-Tahrir fear

OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott has conceded that members of Islamist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir hold concerning views, but as long as they do not incite terrorism, the group has a place in Australian society.

Speaking to radio shock jock Alan Jones last week, Abbott said if reports that the group was agitating to establish an Islamic caliphate were correct, it would be “abominable, absolutely abominable”.

But he continued: “The general principle in this country is that we don’t punish bad thoughts, we don’t even punish bad words, as long as those words don’t amount to incitement to break the law.”

Hizb ut-Tahrir — an international Islamist group that has a small branch in Australia — is banned in some countries, mostly in the Middle East. It has come under fire on a variety of fronts, not least because of its anti-Semitic rants. and calls for the eradication of the Jewish State. The Bangladesh arm of the group released a statement earlier this year calling on Muslims to “teach the Jews a lesson” and “march forth to fight them, eradicate their entity and purify the earth of their filth”.

In 2007, then attorney-general Philip Ruddock oversaw an investigation into possible terrorist links with the local branch, but eventually decided not to proscribe the group.

Abbott said the group has very limited support in this country at the moment, and argued the mainstream Muslim community is not behind it. “My hope, my expectation, my confidence is that this is a minority view among Australian Muslims, but I’ve got to say anything that looks like an incentive, an incitement to break the law, is something [that] should certainly attract the very closest interest from the law enforcement agencies.”

Hizb ut-Tahrir has come back into focus after hosting a conference in Sydney earlier this month.
A spokesperson for Attorney-General Robert McClelland said it would be inappropriate to confirm or deny whether the group is under investigation by Australia’s intelligence agencies.

NAOMI LEVIN

PHOTO: Tony Abbott at the Australia Israel Leadership Forum in Sydney in 2009. Photo: George Fetting