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Australian Muslims felt the laws were part of a wave of anti-Islamic sentiment sweeping the country after the October 12 Bali bombing
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SYDNEY,
December 4 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – Australian Muslims on
Wednesday, December 4, raised fears that new anti-terrorism laws would
unfairly target them and stir up anti-Muslim sentiments.
Federal
legislators are currently considering laws which would give the ASIO
intelligence agency the right to detain suspects for seven days while
New South Wales state is set to pass a bill giving police sweeping new
powers, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
But
Australian Federation of Muslim Councils spokesman Kuranda Seyit said
Australian Muslims felt the laws were part of a wave of anti-Islamic
sentiment sweeping the country after the October 12 Bali bombing that
killed more than 190 people, nearly half of them Australian.
"It
seems to be focusing unjustifiably on Muslims and if we go along this
line we're going to create something similar to Nazi Germany when
there was this anti-Jewish sentiment," he told AFP.
"Bali
has inflamed the situation. It's fair enough to target Islamic
radicals responsible for terrorism but these laws fall into the trap
of the hawks and the neo-fascists who want to re-ignite the
controversy."
The
proposed NSW laws give police the power to sweep and search target
areas, demanding identification and confiscating items.
They
come amid raised tensions following armed ASIO raids on the homes of
Australian Muslims which were condemned by governments in Southeast
Asia.
"What
we fear is the Muslim community will be vilified, victimized and be
put into a greater state of fear than it already is," Noor Al
Houda Islamic College principal Silma Ihram said.
Muslim
leaders confirmed leaflets calling for a boycott of U.S. and
Australian companies featuring an image of a young boy with a bullet
wound had been distributed to Muslims in western Sydney.
The
leaflet listed 35 companies it accused of financing anti-Palestinian
activities.
Lebanese
Muslim Association spokesman Keysar Trad condemned the leaflet's
"shock value" and claimed it had no official backing from
the Australian Muslim community.
Seyit
said the leaflet provided no proof the listed companies were
anti-Palestinian and he was concerned some were targeted because they
were part-owned by Jews.
"I
have no problem with the principle of boycotting any company backing
anti-Palestinian activities, as long as they are peaceful.
"Boycotts
can be a powerful tool in a desperate struggle."
But
he added that it was "wrong to target companies simply because
they have Jewish ownership."
Seyit
said the leaflet was probably being distributed by an individual who
accessed information off the Internet.
Mufti
of Australia Sheikh Taj Aldin Alhilali said the controversies
overshadowed preparations for Thursday's Eid-ul-Fitr festival
celebrating the end of Ramadan, when more than 35,000 Muslims will
gather at Sydney's Lakemba mosque to pray for peace.
Alhilali
said recent events domestically and overseas had "seen people
transforming into ravenous wolves preying on one another".
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