DAR AL HARB - AUSTRALIA: COMBAT RADICALISM, MOSLEMS ARE URGED

Muslims urged to combat radicalism
By Nikki Todd and Sonja Koremans

HAVING escaped the terror of Iraq under Saddam Hussein, Ali Al-Wahabi does not want radical Muslims to now force him out of Australia.

Once an official pilot to the Iraqi dictator, Mr Al-Wahabi lives peacefully in Sydney with his German wife and two children.

But the international airline captain fears radical Muslims could force moderate Muslims such as himself to again fear for their lives, prompting him to address a peace rally at Maleny, southeast Queensland, this weekend.

Tomorrow he will call on other moderate Muslims like himself to end their silence and speak out against growing Islamic extremism here and abroad.

“My message is to the moderate Muslim to get out of their cocoon and voice their opinion and defend their religion, not against the enemy of Islam, but against the extremists of Islam,” Mr Al-Wahabi said.

“Those people do not represent Muslims, they definitely do not represent me or my children.

“I really fought hard to gain freedom and this is freedom which I gained here in Australia.

“Only through tolerance and understanding do we create acceptance and through acceptance we will have peace and harmony and co-existence.”

Mr Al-Wahabi said he was becoming increasingly concerned over the escalating extremism of some Muslims in Australia.

“I am concerned - that is why we need to subdue the notion of conflict and violence before it is born,” he said.

“I want my kids and my children's children to have a peaceful life.”

The pilot, who recently published his autobiography Farewell Brave Babylon, said unlike Iraqis, he at least felt safe when praying in his Sydney mosque each day.

“I want to convey a message to those extremists; if they don't like it here, they should be reminded of where they come from and they always have the choice to go back,” he said.

The devout Muslim is a guest speaker at the inaugural National Interfaith Festival in Maleny, north of Brisbane, this weekend.

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Pertinent Links:

1) Muslims urged to combat radicalism