Grand Mufti’s cover-up “a graphic failure”
Federal Minister Josh Frydenberg has told Sky News that he was “very concerned” about the grand mufti of Australia’s statement following the terrorist attacks in Paris earlier this month even though the the Islamic leader clarified them later…a cover up according to the politician.
Josh Frydenberg
Speaking on a Sky News current affairs panel, Frydenberg, the minister for Resources, Energy and Northern Australia said that the Ibrahim Abu Mohammed, the Grand Mufti of Australia sought to cover up his initial statement.
Media reports on the Grand Mufti’s initial statement were critical of its failure to condemn the attacks.
Josh Frydenberg told the panel: “I think that you’re going to see much more leadership come out of Paris when it comes to dealing with Islamic extremism. This is a problem that is felt right across Europe and capital cities, whether it’s Brussels or London or Amsterdam or in other countries like Sweden. So, I think there are going to be major changes for Europe coming and it’s long overdue.”
Journalist Paul Kelly asked Frydenberg about Islamic leadership in Australia asking “it’s been highly equivocal in terms of its public response to Paris. How concerned are you about that?”
Frydenberg: “Very concerned. I think the Grand Mufti failed in his leadership with his statement. He sought to cover that up subsequently but it was a graphic failure, and he has more of a responsibility, not only to the Muslim community but to the community at large, because all of our security is at risk. You see, I do not accept that terrorism in our cities is the new norm. I will not accept that as a Member of the Australian Parliament. I know my fellow parliamentarians will not accept that. Daniel Andrews, the Premier of Victoria, said we have to accept that violent extremism is part of contemporary Australia. Well I say, no, that’s rubbish, I will not accept that, and we need to acknowledge the significance of this threat, to acknowledge that religion is part of this problem. And, thirdly – because this is the key point – we need to deal with it at a hard edge with the military response, but we also need to deal with it with a counter-narrative and David Cameron has made some very strong comments in the United Kingdom on this point. He says this is the greatest challenge of our generation.
Grand Mufti Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohamed, with The Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council’s Jeremy Jones and Archbishop Issam Darwich
Kelly then asked Frydenberg: “To what extent are you concerned that the wider public debate in this country has got a large element of denial in it when it comes to confronting the fact that this is a problem within Islam? ”
Frydenberg, who went to a Jewish day school in Melbourne, responded: “I would say it is a problem within Islam, and the point about Islam is that this is a minority of extremists, and you could argue that it’s even a small minority of extremists, but it’s a significant minority of extremists and it does pose a challenge to our way of life in Australia. You see, at my school where I went to school within Melbourne, there are now armed guards outside the front where primary school kids are going to school in Melbourne. In my own electorate at a Jewish school there are armed guards. Is this acceptable in modern day Australia? It’s not to me.”
Frydenberg was asked if he thought the Grand Mufti should resign.
Frydenberg answered: “I think that he needs to show greater leadership than he did and as for his future, that’s a question for the Muslim community because I know that the vast majority of the Australian Islamic community appreciates the significance of this extremist threat and they also want to see the end of it as I do.”
Federal Labor MP Michael Danby told J-Wire: “There are people out there who use Islam as a political justification for evil deeds.”
When /If Josh Frydenberg is forced to resign as did Vic Alhadeff we will know we are in extremely deep dudu.