SYDNEY, Australia (JTA) — A radical Muslim cleric who described Jews as “pigs” and is accused of inciting terrorism has returned to Australia to preach after years in exile.
Sheik Feiz Mohammed, a Sydney native, was told in 2007 by then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd that he was “not welcome here” after an inflammatory DVD series emerged in which he is quoted saying that “We want to have children and offer them as soldiers defending Islam. Teach them this: There is nothing more beloved to me than wanting to die as a mujahid [holy warrior].”
Media reports this week said Mohammed was back in Sydney teaching at mosques, which drew the ire of New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies CEO Vic Alhadeff.
“We deplore the use of any such language against any group,” Alhadeff said. “Bringing such hatred to Australia is not what we’re about, and most Australians unequivocally condemn such vicious bigotry.”
But Samil Dandan, president of the Lebanese Muslim Association, said the firebrand preacher was a new man and shouldn’t be judged on his past.
A police spokesman told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper that Mohammed was being monitored.
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