21 hours ago
'Take it up with God': preacher sued for anti-Semitism
Wissam Haddad's fiery sermons have racked up thousands of views online but are now being scrutinised in a lawsuit brought by a Jewish group alleging anti-Semitism.
The Islamist preacher maintains all his words are backed up by scriptures from the Koran and other Islamic texts.
"I like to call Islam a divine ideology and I'm going to give reference from that," he told AAP ahead of his Federal Court hearing on Tuesday.
"If people have an issue with the reference that I'm bringing, that I wholeheartedly know and believe is from God, then they should take this up with God, not me."
The Sydney-based Al Madina Dawah Centre cleric has been accused of racial discrimination in more than 110 pages of court documents that detail inflammatory remarks in sermons posted on social media.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim and deputy president Robert Goot are seeking injunctions requiring the removal of the allegedly racist speeches and prohibiting Mr Haddad from making similar comments in future.
The pair, who are not seeking compensation or damages, hope the case will serve as "a warning to deter others seeking to mobilise racism in order to promote their political views".
Among the speeches detailed in their statement of claim, Mr Haddad blames the roots of "the enmity that we see today" on "none other than the Jews... because their forefathers had shown the same enmity to the Prophet (Mohammed)."
He also claimed divisions among Muslim communities were because of Jewish people.
Mr Haddad said most of the speeches identified had been taken down because he "didn't want the headache", while the complaint was being mediated at the Australian Human Rights Commission.
But he said he refused to comply with other demands from the council including reading a pre-written apology at a synagogue and attending an anti-racism workshop, and this had prompted the Federal Court lawsuit.
The council was contacted to verify Mr Haddad's claims but it declined to comment instead referring to a statement when it launched the lawsuit which seeks "to defend the honour of the community."
ECAJ is a prominent group representing the Jewish community that has received more than $55 million in funding from the federal government in the past two years in light of anti-Semitic attacks on synagogues and schools.
The council's co-CEO Alex Ryvchin's former home was the target of an arson and graffiti attack in January.
Mr Haddad has courted controversy for being friends with former Australian members who joined terrorist group the Islamic State and posted gruesome videos of their atrocities, including beheadings.
He defended his relationship with Khaled Sharrouf, an Australian ISIS member who was reportedly killed in a drone strike in Syria, because he was fighting other combatants in a bloody civil war.
The preacher, also known as Abu Ousayd, maintains religious and political contexts are needed to situate his sermons, including the war on Gaza.
"If you really look into it, our talks were never aimed at any Jews in Australia, rather we were speaking about the Jewish state of Israel," he said.
Mr Haddad maintains he wears his emotions on his sleeve and that he has not breached any laws.
"This is a test, not for me, this is a test for democracy itself."
