Prominent Muslim Spiritual Leader Under Fire For Calling Jewish People ‘A Hidden Evil’

A video that emerged online from Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir’s leader, Ismail al-Wahwah, has come under fire due to the openly racist nature of the comments he made against Jews.

One official complaint was made by Jeremy Spinak, the President of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, which he lodged with the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board. Spinak asked them to take action for the speech, which took place last year in Sydney, Australia.

During the speech, which was delivered in July 2014, al-Wahwah said some horrible things about Jewish people, calling them, “a hidden evil.”

He claimed, “The entire world suffers from the children of Israel … Who will set the world free from the children of Israel so that the world will be able to say that it has rid itself of that hidden evil? This mission will be accomplished by none but you, O Muslims … The ember of jihad against the Jews will continue to burn.”

With friends like that, who needs enemies? And a letter to ADB president Stepan Kerkyasharian by Spinak echoes that, as he requests that the organization prosecute al-Wahwah under Section 20D of the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act.

Spinak explained the situation in his letter.

“The speech incited hatred towards, serious contempt for, and severe ridicule of, Jews on the ground of them being Jewish. It is clear that the speech threatened physical harm towards Jews. It also incited others to threaten physical harm towards Jews. It is important to note that the diatribe was crude Jew-hatred reminiscent of last year’s anti-Israel rallies in Sydney that descended into blatant anti-Semitism, complete with Nazi swastikas and placards evoking racist images that had nothing to do with any Middle East conflict.”

It remains to be seen how the ADB will react to the request to prosecute al-Wahwah and others as a deterrent against anti-Semitism and open racism.