Wednesday, January 10, 2007
MEETING MOVED
An update on Hizb-ut-Tahrir (mentioned earlier here and here):
An extremist Muslim group linked to the London bombings secretly booked the Bankstown Town Hall under a fake name so it could stage a conference on converting the world to Islam later this month.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal the group Hizb-ut-Tahrir – banned in parts of Europe and the Middle East but not here – gave Bankstown City Council a pseudonym to secure the venue for the day after Australia Day.
"The group has booked under different names in the past, and we can confirm that occurred on this occasion,” a council spokeswoman said yesterday.
"Bankstown Police were contacted and they advised that they had assessed this conference as a peaceful meeting."
The militant group told council the conference was a peaceful meeting of an organisation called “Risala."
Good news: Bankstown council has since reversed its decision. Meanwhile, the Hizbian YouTube clip located by reader Curious George is now running at several News Ltd sites (and LGF) and was also played this morning on 2GB. More on the Hizbies in this Daily Telegraph editorial.