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| Down Under |
| Muslim cleric fights to stay in Australia |
| 2004-11-22 |
| A MUSLIM cleric is fighting to stay in Australia after spy agency ASIO (Australian Security Intelligence Organization) assessed him as a national security risk. The Government is attempting to deport Sheik Mansour Leghaei, a leading Shi'ite cleric who runs a Muslim community centre and charity in Sydney. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation said in July that Sheik Leghaei might have been involved in "acts of foreign interference". Australian law defines such acts as including spying on and intimidating dissidents and secretly collecting official, military, political or scientific information for a foreign government. Sheik Leghaei today took legal action in the Federal Court, which if successful will enable him to stay in Australia. The court was told he first came to Australia from Iran in February 1994. Since then he has made a name for himself as a moderate voice for Islam, attending multi-faith meetings and peace forums. Two of his four children have been granted permanent residency. He applied for permanent residency in November 1996, but his application was refused in August 1997 when ASIO made an adverse security assessment against him. He was given a bridging visa while he sought a review of the refusal. In February 2002 ASIO notified the Immigration Minister that it maintained its earlier security assessment. In April 2002 his bridging visa was cancelled on the basis of that assessment. He was granted a further bridging visa while he appealed against the minister's decision to the Migration Review Tribunal, but later that month the Government withdrew his appeal rights. He began Federal Court action to quash ASIO's adverse security assessment and the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security, Australia's spy watchdog, conducted an inquiry into the assessment. Following the IGIS's report in 2003, ASIO conducted a fresh security assessment and sought comments from Sheik Leghaei. |
| Posted by:God Save The World |
| #3 Because of the nature of islam, only an apostate could be safely let in. Discriminatory, unacceptable? Sure, because of its Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde nature, at best. Mostly Hyde and little useful Jekyll. |
| Posted by: Wo 2004-11-22 12:31:20 PM |
| #2 Take away his citizenship and cast him out. I say bring in 20-year provisional citizenship. They are allowed in. If they do not commit violent crime or incite others to violence within a 20-year period they can become legal citizens. The second they do, out they go. If they have families here who are full citizens, too bad, off you go and leave your family behind. |
| Posted by: Anon1 2004-11-22 9:27:43 AM |
| #1 I notice he hasn't rejected the mainstream concept of jihad. Takiyya (or kitman), anyone? |
| Posted by: tipper 2004-11-22 8:58:50 AM |