Meet Sheikh Sharif Hussein. He lives in Adelaide – the ‘City of Churches’ – but he’s no fan of Christians. Nor Jews, of course.
And you have to hear what he says about Hindus and Buddhists.
These comments have landed him in hot water with South Australian police, and led his coreligionists to throw him under the bus.
Islamic Society spokesman Dr Waleed Alkhazrajy says the comments are very disturbing but insists they do not represent the view of the majority of Muslim people.
“We definitely do not approve such remarks and words and language. It’s intolerable, cannot be defended and we don’t know how and why he’s done that because it’s all edited but whatever is on the material that’s been posted on YouTube is unacceptable,” he said.
Dr Alkhazrajy says the Sheikh stopped preaching at Park Holme about three years ago after refusing to accept constraints on what he could say.
“At the time there were some comments not approved by the community and the committee,” he said.
“It came to the time [of] renegotiating the employment conditions and we put terms in the contract saying any remarks need to be made available to the committee to approve.
“That was one of the points he was not happy with.
“I think he’s just a loner now. I don’t have full information about his movements and whereabouts but from our point of view we don’t have any relationship to him.”
But not to worry! Australia knows how to handle dangerous immigrants like the Sheikh (hat tip: Mick).
Immigration Minister Tony Burke says he will look sympathetically at a request for an elderly woman to stay in Australia after an emotional plea from her family.
Immigration officials have denied permanent residency to 75 year-old Jean Goldblatt, who moved from South Africa to Perth to live with her three children 11 years ago.
Ms Goldblatt was diagnosed with dementia four years ago and placed in an aged-care facility.
Her daughter Nina Waltman says she has now been declared a burden to taxpayers and ordered to return to South Africa.
Mrs Waltman says the only family capable of caring for her mother, including her brother and sister, all live in Perth.
She says her mother also has six grandchildren in Perth who want her to stay as she has played a big role in their upbringing.
“It scares me because there’s nobody there that can look after her,” Mrs Waltman said.
“She does have an elderly sister who is suffering from cancer herself.
“The South African environment is not safe for the general public let alone an elderly sick woman. I don’t know what awaits her and I don’t even want to try to think about it.
“I don’t even know how the system works here. I’ve been living here for nearly 20 years. I don’t even know that South Africa will accept her back,” she said.
“Her passport has expired. I had to take her last week for finger printing to the Australia Federal Police to apply for a new passport, so at this stage we don’t even had a valid passport for her. I don’t even think she’d be capable of travelling to tell the truth.”.
