Police in Australia will be asked to investigate comments made by an Islamic cleric after he told followers in Adelaide that Buddhists and Hindus should be counted "one by one" and killed. Sharif Hussein, who has previously attracted attention from security agencies, told up to 25 followers that Muslims were being raped and slaughtered by members of other religions, before praying that Buddhists and Hindus be killed. The Tunisian-born cleric said, "Oh Allah, count the Buddhists and the Hindus one by one. Oh Allah, count them and kill them and spare none of them."
Subtitled excerpts from the March 22 sermon, delivered during Friday prayers at the then Allenby Gardens headquarters of the Islamic Da'wah Centre of South Australia, were posted on YouTube on Monday. Hussein refused to comment yesterday but told another Islamic leader that his remarks had been taken out of context in the short clip.
South Australian Liberal senator Cory Bernardi said he would refer the video to authorities. He said, "This hate speech has no place in our society and needs to be publicly condemned by all Australians, including by members of the Muslim community. I'll make sure the relevant authorities are aware of it because parts of this speech advocates for physical violence against other people on the basis of their religious beliefs. That is completely unacceptable in Australia."
Wagdy Elgeezawy, the president of the center where the sermon was given, said he spoke to Hussein yesterday. He was told Hussein's remarks were made immediately after "atrocities" against Muslims in Myanmar were referred to. Elgeezawy said, "He asked Allah to count them and to finish them off exactly like they are doing to Muslims. There is a difference between a wish and something to be committed. This has to be clear."
Elgeezawy said that although he shared the cleric's concern about the killing of Muslims, he did not agree with the use of such "strong" words. He said, "I believe that if someone commits something horrible against your family, you would have such feelings of avenging what happened. His words are obviously being taken out of context."