Preacher’s new rant
Sued by the ECAJ over comments in which he called Jews a 'vile' and 'treacherous'.
Western Sydney preacher Wissam Haddad has framed a court case against him as part of a broader “religious conflict” taking place in Sydney, according to a report this week in The Daily Telegraph.
Haddad, who runs the Bankstown-based Al Madina Dawah Centre, is being sued by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) over comments in which he called Jews a “vile” and “treacherous” people, and claimed that “their hands are in everywhere – in businesses … in the media”.
The Daily Telegraph obtained video footage of Haddad addressing supporters at his centre last Friday ahead of a Federal Court hearing next month. In the speech, Haddad characterised the legal action as an effort by the “Jewish lobby” that he said wants to “destroy” Islam.
“Although there is a physical conflict taking place (overseas)… know that there is a religious conflict taking place here in Sydney,” he said.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Haddad also called for financial support for his legal defence.
“We may not be able to physically go and fight … against the Israelis who are killing our brothers and sisters, but we can fight here with our wealth,” he said.
The ECAJ officially launched court proceedings against Haddad – who also goes by the name Abu Ousayd – and the Al Madina Dawah Centre last October after failing to resolve a complaint though the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC).
Applicants Peter Wertheim and Robert Goot, the ECAJ co-CEO and deputy president respectively, are seeking declarations that the respondents contravened section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, injunctions requiring the speeches to be removed from the internet and restraining the respondents from publishing similar content in the future, an order requiring publication of a corrective notice on the social media pages of the Al Madina Dawah Centre, and an order for costs.
Wertheim said then that “it should not fall on our community, or any other community, to take private legal action to remedy a public wrong, and to stand up to those who sow hatred in our midst”.
“Maintaining and strengthening social cohesion is the role of governments and government agencies, but lately they have failed us,” he said.