Australia: Imam refuses to take down anti-mosque stickers

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“I was surprised by them because Australia is a loving and open country. The purpose of a mosque is for humanity and unity."

Times of Ahmad | News Watch | UK Desk
Source/Credit: Blacktown Sun
By Kevin Nguyen | May 31, 2016

Anti-mosque stickers were placed on four telegraph poles outside the Marsden Park mosque, but the Muslim association there has refused to take them down.

On May 18, stickers with campaign branding belonging to the far-right Australia First Party were found outside the Baitul Huda Mosque on Richmond Road.

A sticker reading “Marsden Park Mosque is a place of HATE towards Australia and it’s values. No more mosques!” accompanied them.

Rather than make a complaint, the national president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association, Iman Inamul Haq Kauser, reached out to the Australia First Party.

“We never show anger, this is our hallmark; our motto is ‘love for all, hatred for none’,” he said.

“I was surprised by them because Australia is a loving and open country. The purpose of a mosque is for humanity and unity.

“We are not angry because if they understood us, they would not have been put there.”

Two days later, the president instructed pictures be put on the association’s Twitter with an open invitation.

“[Hello] Australia First Party, despite [the] hate stickers outside our mosque, we invite you and we welcome you,” the association’s Twitter account wrote on May 20, 2016.

The Australia First Party replied.

“No thanks, but if you want some ‘hate’ stickers we can send you a box at mate’s rate,” the party’s account wrote in response.

The party’s tweet response was deleted, but not before a screenshot was taken.

The Sun reached out to the western Sydney candidate for the party, Dr Jim Saleam who is contesting the seat of Lindsey.

Dr Saleam said he was made aware of it but said the sticker placement was not official, and was likely done by local supporters.

However, he said the message on the stickers “held a general sort of validity” but their placement outside mosque grounds were “incidental”

Candidate: Dr Jim Saleam is the Australia First Party's candidate in Lindsey. Photo taken in 2008. Picture: Peter Morris

“Muslims in Australia, shouldn’t be in Australia,” the candidate said, adding he opposed globalism.

“The sum total of Islamic theology clashes absolutely with Australian traditional values.”

When asked why the reply was taken down from the party’s social media account, he said

“Unfortunately, social media is incredibly diverse, anything can occur,” he said.

“We do our best to edit our sites. I myself, have struck comments which did not reflect our party.”

Dr Saleam said it wouldn’t have been “appropriate” to accept the Imam’s invitation to their mosque, and in particular their ‘peace symposium’ on Saturday.

He said his values were not aligned with Islamic theology.

--  Reach Kevin Nguyen on Twitter @cog_ink


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