DAR AL HARB - AUSTRALIA: "WESTERN CULTURE, LED BY THE UNITED STATES, IS THE ENEMY OF ISLAM."

Radical sheik refused entry for Islamic talks
by Gerard McManus

THE Howard Government has banned a radical Muslim sheik from entering Australia to speak at a major Islamic conference in Melbourne at the weekend.

Sheik Bilal Philips, who has been linked to the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing in New York, was refused a visa at the last moment by Department of Immigration officials, sources told the Herald Sun.

It is believed the department acted on advice from national security agencies.

Sheik Philips, 50, a Canadian citizen who lives in Qatar, once wrote: "Western culture, led by the United States, is the enemy of Islam."

The US Government named him as an "unindicted co-conspirator" in the 1993 bombing that killed six people and injured 1000. He was deported from the US in 2004.

A second speaker billed to attend the first annual Australian Islamic Conference at Melbourne University over Easter weekend has been asked to show cause why he should be allowed to enter the country.

Sources said it was unlikely that Sheik Jaafer Idris, a Saudi-based academic, would be able to provide information in time.

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