Imam Tawhidi

[Black Orchid]

This started last year but little was heard about it and it is ongoing.

At 9.11am on February 11, divisive Imam Mohammad Tawhidi, in a white turban and black and gold robes, started testifying before a Senate committee inquiry into amending Australian citizenship legislation.

"I must say that I observe a growing negative reaction to Islamic immigration, a response that I fully understand," he said, later stating: "There are dangerous members floating around within the Muslim community. We Muslims know this."

He argued "the length of time required to acquire citizenship must be extended" - suggesting five years, allowing for migrants to "integrate with Australian culture and ensure that the values of equality, a fair go, and civic sense and responsibility, as well as human dignity, are better understood".

Melbourne lawyer Moustafa Awad heard Tawhidi's comments that night after work - he knew of the so-called "fake Imam's" past work and was furious that he was criticising their community.

"Lollllll," he tweeted. "That bill should include poisoning that c--- called Tawhidi."

Tawhidi, who calls himself the most popular Imam in the English-speaking world, shared the comment to his 255,000 Facebook followers and 495,000 Twitter followers.

Awad tweeted again.

"Since this post has angered a lot of people, hence [sic] posting it again loll," Awad tweeted the next day. "I don't wish you poisoned anymore, I wish you get kidnapped by ISIS.lolll [sic]".

Tawhidi responded by sharing Awad's photo and work details: "Do not think this is over," he wrote. "This, you extremist, is silence before the (professional) storm."

Six months later, in the backrooms of Parliament House, bureaucrats are busy setting up a rarely-used legal process that could for the first time in 24 years find that a Senate witness was threatened or intimidated.

This time, Senators must grapple with the question: can a tweet constitute threat or harassment?

It comes as Tawhidi and Awad wage a war in courtrooms and boardrooms over each other's jobs and freedom.

The storm continues.

Minutes after Tawhidi shared Awad's photo and work details online, Awad received the first threatening call.

"I started receiving phone calls from angry people straight away," Awad says. "The first person said stuff like 'we're gonna get into you' and 'you will not get away with that'."

The lawyer says he received hundreds of threatening phone calls, texts, emails and Facebook messages, including death threats, and that his work website was shut down under the strain of messages coming through.

Tawhidi has a controversial track record.

He was Sunrise and Today Tonight's go-to Muslim commentator before a damning ABC investigation explored his background and dubious qualifications.

"The main thing about his credentials is he is not an Imam," RMIT Muslim studies expert Dr Chloe Patton says. "He isn't associated with any mosque or prayer centre or anything like that."

Tawhidi set up his own Islamic Association of South Australia, and says he doesn't need his own mosque: "It's like saying every priest has a church."

And Tawhidi insists he is an Imam, arguing that "I'm not regarded by the Australian National Imams Council because I am a Shia Muslim and the council are Sunni Muslims."

Shia and Sunni are the two major branches of Islam. Tawhidi has been accused of using his social media presence to criticise Sunni Muslims in the past. Awad is Sunni.

On February 27, Tawhidi complained to the Victorian Legal Services Board in an attempt to disbar Awad.

Under the subheading "National Security Concerns" Tawhidi wrote he was "concerned that a lawyer within Australia wishes to see ISIS kidnap and behead an Australia Citizen (me)".

The five page letter includes screenshots of Awad's tweets and says Tawhidi shared them to his followers for his "own personal safety".

A month later Awad went to court seeking an intervention order.

"[The harassment] has continued everyday, including this morning," he wrote on his order application. "These threats include 'we know where you are', 'it's not going to be for long', 'you are a terrorist', 'you support ISIS' and 'you will be exterminated'.

More here ... https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal ... 52e15.html

[Black Orchid]

On May 29, the secretary of the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee received a letter from Tawhidi's lawyers, launching a rare legal proceeding that is not decided by judge or jury, but by a Parliament committee.

An obscure 1987 law states that no "penalty or injury" should be inflicted upon anyone giving evidence before a committee. The Privileges Committee reviews allegations like these, and recommends to the Senate whether a punishment should be handed down.

The committee has looked at just a handful of cases this century, generally looking at whether witnesses have lost jobs for giving evidence, or been barred from organisations due to their testimony, but has never before examined threatening tweets.

Awad insists the tweets were not serious.

"I started laughing when he mentioned [in his testimony] Muslims specifically," Awad says. "I think laughing about it and not taking it seriously is the best way of fighting oppression at the moment."

Tawhidi says there was no doubt the tweets were threatening.

"What - my head is a joke? Could he quote the Prime Minister and say I wish ISIS would chop his head off? Could he do that and get away with saying it's a joke?"

"I didn't do anything wrong," Tawhidi says when asked whether he regretted sharing Awad's photo and business information to his half a million followers. "He made the information public."

"I saw a guy writing online that my head should be chopped off - my responsibility is to make people aware and make the public aware and make the police aware."

"My head is not a joke."

I'm with Tawhidi.

[brian ross]

I'm with Tawhidi.

Really? Considering the criticisms leveled at him?

[Black Orchid]

Condemning the muslim who doesn't want Sharia Law here and not a word from you about the threatening 'terrorist' lawyer. Surprise surprise.

Well no surprise at all actually it's all I expected from you.

[brian ross]

'cause I don't suffer from Islamophobia, Black Orcid, unlike you. Who are you going to attack today? You've done the Chinese, you've returned to the Muslims, how about Indigenous Australians or other immigrants, hey? Plenty of scope to express your hatred for people 'cause they are different to you...

[Black Orchid]

Nothing of import, Brian? How unsurprising!

[brian ross]

Nothing of import, Brian? How unsurprising!

Unwilling to admit your childishness, hey, Black Orchid.

[Baronvonrort]

'cause I don't suffer from Islamophobia

Ali Sina the ex muslim from Iran has written a nice work on Islamophobia can you refute anything Ali says Brian?
https://www.faithfreedom.org/oped/sina60526.htm