In Sydney, A Vision Of An Islamic Army.

Well did the great communicator make that point in the magnificent speech he made, to rapturous applause, at the Grand Synagogue in Paris.

This past weekend, in the Sydney suburb of Lakemba, a speech of a rather different complexion took place at a “public event” held by the extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir.  Here’s part of its flyer advertising the event:

It seems, from his account of the “public event”, that reporter Bryan Seymour, who attended on behalf of Channel Seven, was left under no illusion that the organisers welcomed his presence.

“Around 200 men and another 50 women and children, behind a curtain at the back [my emphasis, for this was a secular event], attended,”  he tells us inter alia.

Main speaker Bilal Merhi, known for inflammatory rhetoric, declared that

In most of the Middle East, Hizb ut-Tahrir is a proscribed organisation, but not in Australia or the dear old Motherland.  Its major conferences (like the one at right) in Australia attract delegates and speakers from abroad.

As the Sydney Morning Herald explained at the time of one of its conferences

Still, it seems from the rest of Bryan Seymour’s report that, albeit in fits and starts like the dozy dormouse at the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, the Aussie authorities might be waking up.Read and see more of Channel Seven’s report (including a video report) here.

Hat tip to Jean Vercors (to whom I owe the “Je Suis Israel” in my sidebar) for this not inapt cartoon: