Free Republic

A MUSLIM leader has told his students that it is "obligatory" for all Muslims to engage in jihad if an Islamic country is under attack, even if it means killing the enemy's children. Teachings Sheik Shady Suleiman, a youth leader at Lakemba Mosque in Sydney's southeast, told his students in a one-hour Arabic and English lecture that it would be "self defence" to kill children who were attacking them in battle. Muslim leaders yesterday attacked the 29-year-old cleric, who has a substantial following in Sydney and is deputy to leader Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali. They accused him of delivering a...

POLICE have been asked to protect Australia's largest mosque next weekend because of concerns that a bikini march staged to coincide with the anniversary of the Cronulla riots may get out of control. The caretaker of Lakemba Mosque, the Lebanese Muslim Association, says it is taking no risks, requesting at least 32 police officers to protect the place of worship on Saturday and Sunday. Association president Tom Zreik said he met police on several occasions to ensure there would be adequate numbers of officers present to defuse problems and arrest troublemakers. "We are treating this as something that is funny...

An ambulance has been called to the Lakemba Mosque in Sydney's south-west. The ambulance service says someone has collapsed inside the mosque. The incident happened at the same time a meeting between controversial Sydney Muslim cleric Sheikh Taj El-Din Al Hilaly and the president of the Lebanese Muslim Association, Tom Zreika, was meant to take place to discuss the Sheikh's future. The ambulance officers have entered the Sheik's office, but it is not known if the Sheik himself has collapsed.