SYDNEY,
July 24, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Australian
Federal Justice Minister Chris Ellison proposed Sunday, July 24,
changing laws to enable security authorities to prosecute Muslim imams
involved in religious preaching and writing "inciting
violence".
"Those
sorts of comments would not find any support in mainstream Australia,
and nor should they in the community from where they're made," he
was quoted as saying by the ABC News Online.
Ellison
said he supported a general review of anti-terror laws to prosecute
imams who incite "violence and hatred", urging Muslim
leaders in Australia to help crack down on what he termed as
"unacceptable comments".
"Everything
is on the table, we have robust counter-terrorism laws in Australia,
some other countries are just implementing what we already have",
he told Channel Seven.
"But
security is a work in progress, and you never rule a line through it
and say 'well that's enough'," added the official.
Australian
Mufti Sheikh Taj Al-Din Al-Hilaly called earlier this week for
deporting imams "preaching violence" and barring entry to
visiting figures with controversial views.
Prime
Minster John Howard had criticized some Muslim leaders in Australia
for what he termed as "failure to denounce terrorism".
Muslim
organizations in Australia estimate the number of Muslims in the
country at 350,000.
Tightened
Laws
Howard
defended Sunday the proposed new anti-terror measures, denying the
possibility of Austria becoming a police state.
"They
can rest assured and they know that no government is going to turn
Australia into a police state in order to protect us against
terrorists. We don't need to do that," he told Channel Ten
television from London.
"You
have an obligation to the public to take whatever measures are
reasonable and proper to protect the community and that is what I'm
sure the overwhelming majority of Australians feel."
Following
talks with his British counterpart Tony Blair, Howard proposed beefing
up anti-terrorism laws in Australia.
His
plans include laws to make it illegal to attend Islamic schools
overseas as well as increased use of closed circuit television at
transport hubs and in major cities like Sydney and Melbourne.
The
mooted measures drew immediate rebuke from civil liberty groups
concerned that innocent people might be caught up by laws that were
ill-defined and hard to enforce.
Australia,
which sent troops to join key ally the United States in Iraq and
Afghanistan, has never been hit by a major terrorist attack on home
soil.
The
country, however, has steadily built up security since the 9/11
attacks, giving police and intelligence agencies more power to detain
and question suspects or people suspected of knowing about future
attacks.
