Al-Hilali At It Again.....

And still we continue to let this man back into our country....

Iran call sparks Hilali sedition probe AUSTRALIAN mufti Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali is under investigation over whether his call for the Muslim world to unite behind Iran breached sedition laws by urging assistance to an enemy of the state. Australian Federal Police officers interviewed Sheik Hilali last Tuesday over his call to Muslims to "stand in the trenches" with Iran, described by US President George W. Bush as a member of the "axis of evil". Sheik Hilali said yesterday he had told the AFP the phrase, delivered in Arabic in April, translated in English to the less literal "in the same boat" or "sharing the same fate". He said the interview, on Iran's Alalam television, was about promoting world peace and had nothing to do with inciting trouble. Alalam on its website had quoted the disputed leader of Australia's 300,000 Muslims as saying the global Islamic nation would not "kneel" to its enemies and should unite with Iran. "The mufti of Australia has called on the Islamic world to stand in the trenches with the Islamic Republic of Iran which possesses the might and power," the website reported. No one has been charged since Australia's sedition laws were tightened in late 2005. The maximum penalty is seven years' jail. Sheik Hilali was cleared last week of channelling money to terrorist organisations, and he was confident of again being cleared of any wrongdoing. The investigation comes as Sheik Hilali - whose position of mufti was abolished by the Australian National Imams Council in March - is about to make a comeback giving Friday sermons at the Lakemba Mosque, in Sydney's southwest. Sheik Hilali - who was granted a three-month stay of execution by the imams council - will return to the pulpit after a six-month self-imposed exile triggered by his comparison of rape victims to exposed meat during a Ramadan sermon last October. Sheik Hilali says in a letter to Arabic newspapers that he had stayed away from the pulpit "of his own volition when he realised that there was a meeting of interests between some politicians, sections of the media, and some in the community who sought to eliminate the position of mufti and to remove me personally". "Had they been successful, no cleric would be able to raise his voice or take a stand for justice," he wrote. Citing strong community support for his return, Sheik Hilali is expected to start sermons again as early as next week. Hilali confidant Keysar Trad said the latest allegations about the mufti's comments on Iran were part of a campaign to eliminate the position of mufti or oust the mufti himself. Last week Sheik Hilali was cleared of any wrongdoing over allegations that he diverted funds raised by the Lebanese Muslim Association for victims of the Israel-Lebanon war to supporters of al-Qa'ida and Hezbollah. Sheik Hilali was in Tehran for a conference when he was quoted by Alalam on April 7, two days after the Iranian regime had released 15 British sailors who had been held hostage for two weeks after being snatched in Iraqi waters. Government ministers and Kevin Rudd strongly attacked Sheik Hilali over the comments, with John Howard last month suggesting the mufti consider leaving Australia. In response Sheik Hilali said he had spent 50 years promoting peace and accused the Prime Minister of being a dictator. The latest police investigation comes after he made disparaging remarks about Australia's convict past on Egyptian TV, saying that Muslims had more right to be in Australia. Mr Trad explained the comments saying that the interpretation should have expressed a love for his country.

Isn't it time he got his marching orders??

AC