Islam infested by extremists, cleric says

A moderate preacher says Australia’s Muslim society is “infested by extremists”, his comments coming during a heated television debate that also included Muslim leader Dr Jamal Rifi.

Adelaide Imam Shaikh Mohammad Tawhidi appeared on Channel Seven’s Sunrise program with host David Koch and Dr Rifi to discuss this week’s Manchester bombing.

The terrorist attack, which killed 22 people and injured 64, 20 critically, was carried out by radicalised British Muslim Salman Abedi.

Dr Rifi and Tawhidi condemned the attack. Tawhidi went further, saying young people were being radicalised, even in Australia, “because of the Islamic scriptures that we have”.

“They push the Muslim youth to believe that if you go out there and you kill the infidel that’s how you will gain paradise.

“It is very hard being a peaceful, moderate person within a society that is infested by extremist Muslims. I will not deny this fact.”

Tawhidi’s website says he is an Australian Shi’i Muslim creationist, educator, speaker, preacher, thinker, researcher and author.

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“We have a large number of Muslims that are extremists, even in Australia, and we see them when they come out in the Sydney riots, and we see them attacking the police,” he said on Sunrise.

Tawhidi said clerics and followers in Australia were being radicalised. He then held up a sticker featuring the al-Qa’ida logo that he said he had purchased in Melbourne on Tuesday.

He said such open promotion of radical groups created a “jihadi” atmosphere within Australian Muslim communities.

He warned that having good relations with the Muslim community did not mean having control over them.

Koch asked the pair if Muslim leaders had been vocal enough in condemning radical Islam attacks.

Dr Rifi, a Lebanese Muslim GP and prominent community leader, insisted Australia was a peaceful country.

Imam Tawhidi shows off the al-Qa’ida branded sticker he says he bought in Melbourne this week.

“First of all these scriptures existed for thousands of years, they didn’t incite violence or terror acts,” he said.

“It is an ideology of the so called Islamic State and Daesh and they are actually targeting young people who are impressionable.”

Dr Rifi said the Muslim community had condemned the Manchester attack.

“The Grand Mufti condemned it, we have shouted from the rooftops our condemnation of this act. What more can we do?”

Tawhidi replied: “We have a situation where a month doesn’t go by without a terrorist attack happening somewhere around the world,” he said.

“For 1400 years we have had a religion of war, that’s exactly what we have had. This is not something I’m imagining.”

Dr Rifi said there was nothing in Islam that justified killing innocent people.

Tawhidi responded: “Our books teach the beheading of people,” he said adding the Manchester bomber would have believed he was going to heaven for what he did.

Dr Rifi insisted the Manchester suicide bomber was going straight to hell because he has killed innocent people.

“Nothing in our religion supports killing innocent people, full stop,” he said.