(from Aussie News & Views, April 2007)
YOUNG Somali refugees in Melbourne are being seduced by Muslim extremists, a Somali community leader has warned.
Herse Hilole, a Sydney community leader and Islamic scholar, fears the recruits could be used in terrorism attacks in Australia.
He said some Somalis were being influenced by radical Lebanese from a hardline Wahhabi group ...
He told The Age extremists from Somalia visited last year to gather money and support and that one of their most important allies was the Somali mosque in North Melbourne ...
Dr Hilole says in his speech that Islamist extremists are using terrorist tactics in Somalia, trying to create an insurgency similar to Iraq, and have found many supporters in Australia ...
Dr Hilole told The Age that Muslim extremists fell into two groups in Australia: those promoting political Islam, such as Sheikh Taj al-Din al-Hilali, and those who supported jihad, such as Salafis (ultra-conservatives), who controlled some mosques and schools.
He said Somalis who supported the Islamic Courts movement, and there were many, did not want to integrate with Australian society.
"There was a group in Melbourne affiliated with al-Ittihad (the Islamic Courts) under the name al-Ansar, which was closed several times by Australian intelligence and security agencies. Now they are hiding in the community."
More ...
Video ...
The Age ...
