Sydney preacher’s new speech inflames tensions ahead of key court ruling

A Sydney-based Islamic preacher facing legal action over allegedly antisemitic remarks has delivered a new speech accusing the “Jewish lobby” of attempting to undermine Islam, further inflaming tensions ahead of a high-profile court ruling.

Wissam Haddad also known as Abu Ousayd, a cleric at Bankstown’s Al Madina Dawah Centre, is being sued by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) over previous sermons where he described Jewish people as “vile” and “shifty,” and claimed they hold disproportionate influence over the media, business, and banking sectors. The ECAJ argues Haddad’s rhetoric breaches Australia’s Racial Discrimination Act and has asked the Federal Court to prohibit him from making similar remarks in the future and to remove certain online videos containing inflammatory content.

Despite the ongoing case, Haddad has continued his provocative commentary. In a video circulated online this week and obtained by The Daily Telegraph, he claimed the “Australian Jewish lobby” seeks to render Islam ineffective. “During my trial with the Australian Jewish lobby, if you had paid any attention, you would really see what they were after, what they were seeking,  you would see plainly that they wish to alter the deed of Allah… they wish to turn Islam into a passive religion, a religion that just turns the other cheek,” Haddad stated.

He went on to reference militant interpretations of Islamic history, saying, “As for the words of the messenger when he said: ‘I was sent with the sword,’ (this) means that Allah sent him as a caller to tawhid [the oneness of God] with a sword… that whoever does not respond to the invitation of this tawhid through the Koran and its evidence is therefore called to Islam with the sword.”

A recent Four Corners investigation featured a former undercover agent who alleged that Bankstown’s Al Madina Dawah Centre had connections to a prominent UK-based terrorist leader, Anjem Choudary, who has been sentenced to life in prison. The agent also claimed that a resurgent Islamic State network, linked to global terrorist leaders, was radicalising Australian teenagers, with the centre forming part of this broader concern.

Haddad’s previous remarks have sparked widespread condemnation from community leaders, with ECAJ officials describing the rhetoric as dangerous and divisive. Speaking outside court earlier this month, ECAJ co-chief executive Peter Wertheim said the case highlights the rising threat of antisemitism in Australia. “It is the first opportunity we have had to expose what our whole community has been put through over the last 20 months,” Wertheim said.

Haddad, for his part, has framed the court case as an attack on religious freedom. His legal team contends that his sermons, many of which draw from religious scripture, are constitutionally protected expressions of religious and political belief, including his commentary on the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.

Justice Angus Stewart is scheduled to deliver his judgment on Tuesday, following months of legal proceedings closely watched by both Jewish and Muslim communities, as well as the broader community.