Australian flight for freed Wood

FORMER hostage Douglas Wood would fly into Melbourne from Dubai tomorrow morning, his brother said today.

Vernon Wood said the family was "looking forward to having him home safe and sound". However, he said he had no idea how long Mr Wood, who would be accompanied by his American wife, would stay.

He said he hoped a meeting would take place between Douglas Wood and Prime Minister John Howard.

"We'd like to get Doug to meet with Prime Minister Howard and (Foreign Minister) Alexander Downer as soon as possible," he said.

Reading a written statement to reporters, Vernon Wood said: "I am delighted to advise that Doug will be back in Melbourne tomorrow."

Vernon Wood answered "yes" when asked whether Douglas would be accompanied by his wife Yvonne Given.

He is expected to arrive at Melbourne Airport on an Emirates flight at 5.30am (AEST).

Mr Wood, 63, was rescued from his kidnappers last week after 47 days in captivity in Baghdad.

Defence Minister Robert Hill admitted the exact circumstances might remain a mystery.

The Australian engineer was found in a house in Baghdad by Iraqi and American troops last Wednesday.

The Australian mufti, Sheik Taj al-Din al-Hilaly, maintains he struck a deal with Mr Wood's captors to release him that same day and that the captors were unarmed when troops raided the house in which they and their hostage were found.

But Iraqi and US forces have claimed Mr Wood's rescue was a result of good luck more than anything else.

Senator Hill said there was still some uncertainty surrounding Mr Wood's rescue and the intelligence the Iraqi troops had about his whereabouts when they carried out a sweep of the dangerous Baghdad suburb of Ghazaliya last week.

"All searches have an intelligence base to them," Senator Hill said on Channel 9.

"But whether the Iraqis had specific intelligence that the Australian, Mr Wood, was believed to be in that area is still unclear.

Sheik al-Hilaly, speaking in Cairo through a translator, today said Mr Wood's captors were unarmed and awaiting a pre-arranged handover when they were raided.

"They had reasons to be frightened for this man. He was in their safe custody. They wanted him returned to us safely," he said on ABC television.

"(The captors) didn't know who were these forces because they had agreed to deliver him to me, so they had good reasons to be frightened for Douglas's life.

"In this operation, no-one was armed. This place was similar to a transit place for the final delivery which was planned to happen on the same day at 6pm on Wednesday."

Senator Hill said he had not seen any evidence to back claims by the Australian mufti that Mr Wood was moved to the house so his captors could release him.

He also downplayed claims by the sheik that if it had not been for him Mr Wood would not have been released.

"One is the tremendous work by the team that we sent over there under Nick Warner.

"I monitored their work on a daily basis, it was really quite extraordinary what they did.

"A range of people contributed to what was a successful outcome and I should of course add a fair dose of luck in to the formula as well."

Senator Hill dismissed reports in Fairfax newspapers this weekend that Mr Wood could have been released five weeks ago if Australian troops had not raided the home of prominent Iraqi tribal sheik Hassan Zadaan.

The reports claimed the sheik, who had offered to help secure Mr Wood's release, and his staff were held for about a week of questioning, possibly putting at risk efforts to free the Australian.

Senator Hill said he did not want to discuss the raid, but questioned how much of a role the sheik played in Mr Wood's rescue.

"As for the sheik/mufti, well...who knows?"

The Mufti of Australia and New Zealand, Taj Al-Din Hamed Abdallah Al-Hilali, was born in Egypt's Suhag district in 1941. He graduated from Al-Azhar University and served as a preacher in Egypt, Libya, and Lebanon. In 1982 he came to Australia, and in 1988 he was appointed to his present position by the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils. The following is a collection of speeches and writings by Mufti Al-Hilali: (1)
A Call for Jihad from Lebanon

In a February 13, 2004 sermon at the Al-Quds mosque while on a visit to Sidon, Lebanon, the Mufti of Australia and New Zealand, Taj Al-Din Al-Hilali, called for Jihad against Israel, and added: "The war waged by the U.S. and Israel against the Muslims is a cruel war aimed at annihilating the [Islamic] nation."

Sheikh Al-Hilali expressed amazement that various Arab countries and leaders had avoided hosting the upcoming Arab summit, and added: "In any event, we have become accustomed to the fact that these summits produce nothing, neither cockroach nor mouse.(2)

"We are in dire need of real men these days in light of the situation in Jerusalem and Palestine... Your leaders are looking for a venue and no one dares address an invitation for the leaders of this stricken nation ... because we lack strong leadership. In the past, in Arab and Islamic history, we were governed by real men, but nowadays we are governed by semi-men."(3)

Following a meeting with Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, Sheikh Al-Hilali said: "I blessed Hizbullah for liberating the prisoners and the bones of the Shahids and I praised it and its sacrifice. Hizbullah has become a model for all the Mujahideen in the world... Most of the Australian people do not support the policy of the Australian government, which has placed Hizbullah on the terror list out of submission to the U.S., and the Australian prime minister will pay the price for this in the next elections...."(4)

Anti-American and Anti-Western Sentiment

This is not the first time that Sheikh Al-Hilali expressed anti-American or anti-European sentiment. In a speech in March 2003, he likened "Bush Jr." to the son of Genghis Khan, calling him "the most ignorant president to lead the White House."(5) Sheikh Al-Hilali also declared that President Bush, Australian Prime Minister John Howard, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair are the "axis of evil."(6)

Sheikh Al-Hilali said on another occasion: "The media all over the world are controlled by Zionist fingers, particularly the Western media, and that includes Australia, in which the media are under Zionist hegemony. But in Australia, which unlike the West and the U.S. is multicultural, the media are less racist in their enmity to Muslims and Islam. This is evidenced by the fact that we won the last media battle in Australia and succeeded in forcing the Australian people to treat us with respect. We have not suffered from persecution or disrespect to the same extent that Islamic communities in Western countries and in America have suffered."(7)

read more...http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=12226

Australia: A push for more responsible moderate leadership of Australia's Muslim community:

"The controversial head of Australia's Muslims, Sheikh Taj Din al-Hilali, is under threat from a new Islamic council that is trying to gather support for an alternative leader. The Islamic High Council of Australia was formed in southwestern Sydney this month with plans to become the leading organisation of the country's 400,000 Muslims.

"Members of the council said their goal was to appoint a mufti of their own, in a direct challenge to Sheikh Hilali, the current mufti of Australia. The council is hoping to tap into disenchantment in some Muslim communities with Sheikh Hilali over his controversial speeches, in which he reportedly attacked Jews and supported suicide bombers...

"A spokesman for the new council, Mahmoud Krayem, said yesterday that 20 Muslim organisations had joined the council from different ethnic backgrounds around the country, including Afghan, Indonesian, Pakistani and Lebanese...

"The spiritual leader of the new council, Sheikh Salim Alwan Al-Hasani, said there was a need for a moderate umbrella organisation that 'totally refuses all kinds of extremism' and rejects interference from overseas."
According to Sheikh Alwan, "In looking at the current state of the Muslim leadership in Australia, we can confidently say there is an urgent need for the unity of all the moderate sheikhs, sincere scholars and the highly qualified and educated members of the community." In a dig at the perceived influence of Saudi Wahhabi money, Sheikh added that "Darul-Fatwa Islamic High Council of Australia [as the new group is known] is not a tool serving the interests of any foreign government nor does it accept or receive funds from any overseas sources." His final words offer encouragement for all those who hope to see the Muslim community taking a strong stance against the Islamist cancer: "Darul-Fatwa totally refuses all kinds of extremism as it refuses its elements from any group or individual and declares all acts of extremism unrelated to Islam, as Islam is not related to them in spite of those who claim otherwise."

http://chrenkoff.blogspot.com/2004/11/good-news-from-islamic-world-part-2.html

http://www.moriel.org/articles/discernment/islam/sheik_likely_to_stay_as_islamic_leader.htm

Sheik Likely To Stay As Islamic Leader

By Drew Warne-Smith

SHEIK Taj Al-Din Hilali is unlikely to be deposed as the leading Muslim cleric in Australia despite the fallout over comments attributed to him praising acts of terrorism and supporting a holy war against Israel.

Speaking on return from a pilgrimage to the Middle East, Sheik Hilali, who has held the honorary title of Mufti since 1989, claimed his words had been wrongly translated.

He created a furore when, in a disputed translation, he praised the September 11 attacks on the US as "God's work against the oppressors" and supported Arab martyrs.

Sheik Hilali told ABC Radio last night that anyone who rejoiced in or supported "the 9/11 event knows nothing about the Islam teachings".

"What is truth? Actually it was a poetry and in poetry we go a little bit into imagination of presentation. I'm fully for the Palestinian intifada which is people resisting with small stones, they are resisting rockets, there are guns. Their case has been supported by the United Nations and by human rights and I do fully support it."

But the chief executive of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, Amjad Mehboob, said many Muslims were concerned Sheik Hilali's speech had been interpreted as a radical call to arms.

There was growing resentment that the Mufti was seen as the sole spokesman for Islam in Australia, he said.

While Sheik Hilali could be stripped of his position in a vote at the annual congress next month, he retained wide support and such a move was "highly unlikely", Mr Mehboob said. "It's never happened before and I don't think it will happen now.

"He's done a tremendous amount of good in the community. He has a very wide following. He's well-liked, he's down-to-earth and he's certainly not a radical."

The Mufti title was bestowed on Sheik Hilali in recognition of his leadership, but it does not make him the spiritual leader of Islam in Australia, Mr Mehboob said.

Sheik Hilali, imam of the Lakemba mosque in Sydney's southwest, was also criticised for meeting the leader of the political wing of the banned terrorist group Hezbollah during his trip to Lebanon.

Sheik Hilali's spokesman, Keysar Trad, said he had consistently denounced violence against civilians and he was confident the Mufti would retain his position.

The interpretation that the Mufti supported suicide bombings had been wrongly based on his recital of an Arabic poem about a boy who confronts a tank with a stone, he said.

This one you really mustn't miss! (snip)

http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2005/s1371992.htm

AM - Thursday, 19 May , 2005 08:00:00
Reporter: Nick McKenzie
TONY EASTLEY: For the family and friends of Australian hostage Douglas Wood these are desperately trying times. Fact and rumour mix with speculation leaving the family unsure of what is actually going on. The latest information from Iraq will give them hope.

Overnight Sheikh Taj El-Din Al Hilaly, the Sydney cleric who's gone to Iraq to try and help free the Australian engineer, apparently received a phone call from a man claiming to be Douglas Wood who said he was alive and well.

Since he's been in Baghdad, the Sheikh has said the deadline set by Mr Wood's captors has been extended and he's also said that he expects Douglas Wood to be released.

Keysar Trad, who says he's spoken to members of the Sheikh's party in Baghdad, says the Sheik is certain that he did speak to Douglas Wood. Keysar Trad has also revealed that Sheikh Hilaly has been advised to keep a lower profile while in Iraq.

A short time ago, Keysar Trad spoke to our reporter Nick McKenzie.

NICK MCKENZIE: Keysar Trad, what exactly did Sheikh Hilaly tell you about the mobile phone call he received?

KEYSAR TRAD: I didn't speak to Sheikh Hilaly, I spoke to his guide and he said to me that they received a phone call and that the people on the line purported to be the abductors, and they put him through to an English speaking gentleman who identified himself as Mr Wood.

He said that he was well, and subsequent to that, someone picked up Mr Wood's medication – an anonymous person rocked up to them and took his medication, and that was it.

NICK MCKENZIE: How did they know, how did Sheikh Hilaly know it was Mr Wood?

etc etc....

http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/stalinsky200405040836.asp

for the record: (snip)

May 04, 2004, 8:36 a.m.
Not Lost in Translation
A Grand Mufti’s not-so-grand statements.

By Steven Stalinsky

“Don't be surprised if one day you hear the muezzin calling for praying and saying 'Allah Akbar' from the top of the White House. September 11 is Allah's work against oppressors," stated the mufti of Australia and New Zealand, Sheikh Taj Al-Din Hamed Abdallah Al-Hilali. The mufti, who had enjoyed a reputation for being a liberal, had been exposed when a series of his interviews and sermons over the past two years were translated from Arabic into English in a February report by MEMRI. His statements were supportive of jihad and martyrdom operations as well as terrorist organizations with which he met, such as Hezbollah. Al-Hilali also explained that the "Axis of Evil" really consists of President Bush, Australian Prime Minister John Howard, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Following the translations of Al-Hilali's statements, the Australian government was highly critical of the country's leading Muslim religious authority. Prime Minister Howard condemned his remarks, saying that "incitement to a jihad" is "utterly unacceptable." In another interview Howard added, "What he has said deserves to be condemned in the strongest possible terms." Australian parliamentarians also reacted strongly to Al-Hilali's statements. Senior Liberal MP Christopher Pyne called on the government to consider opening an investigation, and explained: "I am appalled, horrified and shocked...by this newest example of Sheikh Al-Hilali's extremism, which has no place in this country." Opposition Labor-party senator Michael Forshaw was quoted on February 18 stating: "Any calls like that would be very, very serious and very damaging to the nature of society." Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer added, on February 29, that Al-Hilali's statements were "appalling," "provocative," and "stupid."

Canada's National Post reported on March 6 that Al-Hilali's spokesman and other prominent Australian Muslims, including Amir Ali — leader of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils — challenged the accuracy of translations of the mufti's remarks, and claimed that this was a further case of Western mistreatment of Muslims. In response, the Australian foreign ministry authorized an independent translation of Al-Hilali's remarks and, as the National Post wrote, "predictably, it discovered MEMRI was accurate."

Member of Parliament and Opposition Whip Michael Danby, who was quoted on February 19 saying, "Hilali's presence in Australia is a mistake," issued a later press release disputing the argument by Al-Hilali supporters that his statements had been taken out of context. He wrote:

It is not true that this remark was "taken out of context." There is no "context" for it to be taken out of. Everyone...knows that "martyrdom operations" is code for terrorist bombings against civilian targets. A Shahid is a "martyr," one who dies carrying out one of these bombings. During his visit to Lebanon, Sheikh Hilali also gave a clear and unambiguous endorsement to the terrorist organization Hizbullah. He said that Hizbullah had "become a model for all Mujahideen in the world." This remark was not taken out of context. Sheikh Hilali's comments were made at a meeting with the infamous head of Hizbullah, Sheikh Nasrallah.
On February 20, the Australian government announced that the federal police would investigate Sheikh Al-Hilali. A spokesman for Attorney General Philip Ruddock stated: "Meeting Hizbullah is probably not the most prudent thing to do. If his comments about violence are as reported, that would be of concern."

After being exposed as a supporter of terrorist movements and jihad against the West, Al-Hilali made a point of criticizing al Qaeda in English. However, during a subsequent interview on Al Arabiya TV (Dubai) on March 9, in Arabic, the mufti reiterated his previous controversial statements, modified to the new circumstances:

etc...

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