Islamic preacher ‘dehumanised' and ‘humiliated' Jewish community, court told
A series of speeches given by a controversial Islamic preacher in the wake of the October 7 attacks was intended to insult, humiliate, intimidate and offend Jews and dehumanised members of the Jewish community, the Federal Court has heard.
Islamic preacher Wissam Haddad, who refers to himself as Abu Ousayd on his social media accounts, is being sued over comments he made during five speeches that were delivered at the Al Madina Dawah Centre in Bankstown in late 2023 and subsequently published on social media.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry's co-chief executive, Peter Wertheim, and its deputy president, Robert Goot, launched the legal action in October last year, claiming Haddad's speeches, in which he called Jews a 'vile' and 'treacherous' people and referred to them as 'apes' and 'pigs', breached the Racial Discrimination Act and were antisemitic.
Wertheim and Groot have asked the Federal Court for an injunction banning Haddad and his centre from publishing similar content online in the future, and for the court to order the publication of a 'corrective notice' on the centre's social media pages.
The pair filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission in March 2024, but had taken legal action after mediation was unsuccessful. They have applied for the cost of their legal action to be covered, but have not sought any damages.
In his opening submissions, Peter Braham, SC, acting for Wertheim and Goot, said Haddad's speeches meant to intimidate Jewish people.
'It's threatening, it's humiliating, and it's offensive,' Braham said.
In his defence, Haddad said the speeches were not directed at, and did not refer to Australian Jewish people, and were derived, in substance, from the Qur'an.
Haddad's barrister, Andrew Boe, argued that the speeches were given to a private audience at the Al Madina Dawah Centre and intended to be viewed only by members of the Muslim community, and therefore did not amount to a breach of the Racial Discrimination Act.
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