In Australia Short Doc 2005

Last weekend saw the launch of a new radio and television network in Australia. The Islamic Broadcasting Corporation aims to attract a quarter of a million subscribers. It's the driving force is a charismatic preacher who's capturing the hearts and minds of young Australian Muslims with a radical mix of pleased to understand terrorism, anti Western conspiracy theories and homophobia. Shaykh Khalid Yaseen is an American convert to Islam, who's already made several visits to Australia and is pushing the country's tolerance to its limits. Some people characterize me as a radical cleric. I don't think I'm any more radical than Mahatma Gandhi or john Gilja or Jesus Christ or

anybody else who's trying to preach a moral word. shakey Arsene is about to test Australian tolerance to its limits. He wants to be a leader in Australia's Islamic community as an Islamic media mogul. And he's been raising money here for his own radio and TV stations. Good evening, Australia. This is your host of purpose of life radio, collar DRC. Starting with radio broadcasts, yes, scene has big plans for what he calls the purpose of life, Islamic TV channel, purpose of life radio is the moral minded media. Please keep that in mind. Wherever Discovery Channel is that purpose of life channel will be. We believe that purpose of life as a channel and as a theme will

become just as generic and just as common and attractive as Discovery Channel. You can get your Islamic identity. Now you have become compromised through some kind of intellectuality a non Muslim associate

doesn't understand doesn't embrace your values. There's not enough talk about brotherhood.

There's not enough exercise in the Brotherhood. You go to Mars, but you don't feel brotherhood. You see Muslims in the street, but you don't see brotherhood. The Muslim youth have copped an absolute battering in the media since 1998, which has and I've seen it firsthand which has affected their self esteem and their confidence. colleges in installs a lot of pride in the youth, and reminds them that as Muslims, you've got a lot to be proud of. Adam houda is a Sydney lawyer. And until recently, a director of Yeah, scenes company, as far as the young kids are concerned, he's like a superstar, they find it very appealing is Afro American. And I find him a little bit hip for a so called shape.

And it's precisely the young that just seemed likes to target with his message when I talk about fanatic extremists, whatever they're really talking about young male Muslims. How do you feel about that? Does it make you feel

angry, disappointed? Or? What do you think? Basically, people look at Muslims these days, and then with

the wrong scope to look at us as being war criminals and people who want to see destruction and things like that. How do you feel about the fact that the government is saying that we should set up some new rules to make sure that no potential terrorists are developed or cultivated? And also, we want to see inside the mosque in places so before things happen, we can see what happens. How do you feel about that?

Because that's what's being talked about. Now, if they didn't say exactly that, I'm telling you, that's what it means. An absolute joke how far this has gone, about everyone being prejudiced about Muslims, you know, if anything was going to happen, like a terrorist activity or anything, it will be basically because of the pressure being put on on Muslims by non Muslims causing the

dramatic

pain right?

Before he got into broadcasting, yes, in distributed DVDs of his lectures like this one, the constant message is that Muslims are victimized everywhere. Allegedly Muslims who are in Kashmir,

or Afghanistan, or Palestine or Somalia, or Kashmir, or Afghanistan, or Iraq, or Somalia, or Palestine, or Bali, or Indonesia or any place where Muslims have been displaced.

And while he doesn't condone suicide bombing, he says it's understandable. You think about a woman that's 18 years old and beautiful.

Who has lost her children lost her father, lost her brothers

lost her mind.

She thinks that the only thing that she can do to send a signal back to the people who are the criminals of this is to do an act of reprisal is to strap on her 60 pounds of explosives

and walk out onto a bus or cafe or hospital or wherever, where there are other innocent people and blow herself up as an example, that frustration. But is it justified? islamically it is not. But can it be understood in the context of perpetuated protracted oppression that brought about a sense of madness? Yes. According to yessing suicide bombing is an Islamic he says he doesn't approve of it, but he does understand it. Now. Do you have some sympathy with that view? Will I most certainly not. The Firstly, suicide isn't itself something that we we struggle to understand and do everything we can to try to prevent, but to take your own life in trying to kill an indeterminate number of

innocent people is perhaps one of the most heinous of crimes that could be committed. So who is Canada scene? And why is he here? He was born a Christian into a family of 10 children in Harlem. I come from the ghetto, I come from probably the Vietnam of New York.

So coming out of that jungle, and being gifted by the Creator, to be Muslim, I think my responsibility is to share what's inside of me with other people. I don't care what color they are anymore. It's not it used to be back in the 60s, it was a white black thing. It's not a white black thing anymore.

It was then growing up in the height of the civil rights era, aged 18. He became a Muslim after hearing a lecture by Malcolm X.

As I started to understand class, and I started reading things, and I started developing inside of myself, a distaste

for issues of exploitation and oppression, Nicaragua and Panama and Honduras in

South Africa and the pop died. Let's try to understand what those words meant. Yes, he wants us to see him as an ordinary man. He invited us into his home to make breakfast. But even early in the morning, he can't stop himself. Osama bin Laden is not everywhere. omnipotent. You know, I mean, like he's a, he's like in the east and the worst season in the sky. He's everywhere. Where's Osama bin Laden. I mean, that would want $68 billion in 17 countries hunting him and everyone in their houses, being afraid of this kind of Osama bin Laden Boogeyman so far, whatever. This is a creation they have created this year, in the minds of the people in order to justify a war they call on

terror, but is really a terror they have put inside the people it is a war against Islam. And he's waded right into one of the most divisive issues between the Muslim community and the federal government, September the 11th. There's been no evidence that has surface no bonafide or irrevocable, irrefutable evidence that had been surfaced to show that there was a group called al Qaeda that did the September 11. bombings. I'm of the opinion that there was a rogue operation that took place now, to go beyond that would say I would have to have some evidence which I don't an operation that took place with the complicity of some very sophisticated entities, other than some

Middle Eastern guys on an airplane, or being orchestrated by somebody from a cave in Iraq. What do you mean by sophisticated entities, sophisticated entities means that entities who themselves were governmentally instructed, equipped, motivated, we now know that the that the way that they are the way that the World Trade Center fell, the way that those buildings fell, they fell from internal explosive charges. The same way it's done in a construction site. To be honest, it has not been yet on the record and you know, media better than me heaps better than me. It has not been proved up till in today's date. Particularly Yes, this was the person behind him. Yes, scene is clearly

getting his message across to some young Muslims. Workers da hc and Theroux Khan are enthralled by him. They work for him full time without a salary. I haven't met anyone like him. He's powerful. His motivation is just astonishing. And

he guides

people

Towards bettering themselves. I personally take him as my mentor, or as my teacher in

both Religious Affairs to some extent as well as, as well as

you know, and civilized life.

conspiracy theories are yessing, bread and butter, and the Wilder the better. an AIDS virus that is a classic

disease that was created in Fort McKinley, United States.

For McKinley, the age was 63,000 gallons. This one comes from his DVD called jihad or terrorism. missionaries from the World Health Organization and Christian and Christian roots, went to Africa, and inoculated people for diphtheria, malaria, yellow fever, and they put in the medicine, the AIDS virus. But you said that in purpose of live television, at the end of each program, you're going to have a moral statement. So in a sense, purpose of life, let's be clear purpose of life will endorse that theory is no, no, no, no, we won't necessarily because we can't endorse that theory, because the theory is not necessarily fact. But our job is, is to bring another view on what do you believe?

Do you believe that aids was devised by the US government to limit population but also by the US government? I say that there were there were at least five governments that acted in complicity. But what what what I would like to do is to offer something that we call moral minded media. And that is what we're trying to do is to not to make condemnations not to make judgments. But to put a statement in the in the in the middle that we consider to be neutral that we bought yes scenes version of neutral is deeply alarming to some sections of the community. The Koran gives a very clear position regarding homosexuality, lesbianism and bestiality that these are aberrations. They

are Mr. immoralities. And if they are,

if they tried, convicted, they are punishable by death.

But on the streets of New Kimber, in Sydney's Islamic Heartland, the visiting preacher is a welcome face, wine the owner of the restaurant to come down for meal after we have to be finished in as we finish.

Okay,

okay, hello. Okay. Okay, sister, thank you so much. Yes. All right. Thank you. Okay, constant theme is that Muslims here are being victimized.

He takes me to visit the Houghton street Islamic bookstore exposed in the media after the London bombings for stocking how to books on suicide bombing.

They don't want us to come in. And they've been unfairly targeted? Of course, of course they do. And and I think that, that goes without question. They have been by elected officials and by the media industry, and in what way? Follow me, you know, nobody's calling Christian tourists in the cafe across the road. Yes, scene explains. I say then every Christian shop, every Jewish shop, every Hindu shop that may have an objectionable material towards Muslims who slandering the prophet SAW slam, who was slandering Islam or classifying them as dogs or pigs or criminals or whatever, should also be done the same. And if it is not, then that is that is prejudicial treatment. But the reason

that that particular bookshop was targeted in the first place was that they were carrying material that talks about, for example, how to construct a suicide belt for a suicide bomber.

I think that whole idea of suicide is rubbish. There are no books that that you're going to find a no Muslim bookstore that says how to become a suicide bomber. This witch hunt against Muslims is what we're against. I have not been able to find one single incident.

And the scene repeats the message frequently that there has never been any threat from Muslims in Australia. There's not even a real justification for it. I've asked people I've asked young people I've asked Muslims or non Muslims have as older people, has there been

an event in the history of this country involving a Muslim that would suggest they said no, convinced it's the mainstream media that's spreading misconceptions about Islam. Yes, seen and his followers are putting their faith in a new company. The Islamic Broadcasting Corporation, absolutely critical because up until now, the Muslims are crying out for a platform

That we can respond to allegations that we can rebut allegations that are directed in our in our way. And we don't have that.

The first broadcasts are on satellite radio and the web where there are no licensing requirements, no control of content. But here seems Australian partner told us they're planning to purchase an FM license. The launch in Australia is yes scenes third attempt to get a broadcast network up and running.

The first try in the United States failed because of September the 11th. When I arrived in Saudi Arabia, September 10, I was in my hotel room, and I turned on CNN.

And I witnessed the horrific events that took place

two and a half miles from where I was born, in a city that I consider to be home. And so if anyone I just shocked probably hit me more than it hit anyone else. Yes, he was in Saudi Arabia to organize funding from the Saudi charity, Al haramain. While in Saudi Arabia, I had some discussions with officials at Domaine, who had the interest in establishing a television station. If there was any place to establish a television station in the world, it would have been America, the US government forced al haramain to shut down for supporting al Qaeda and its offshoots, including the Indonesian terrorist group, Jamal Islamia.

Six months after the World Trade Center situation took place, the hot domain Foundation was blacklisted and considered to have some connections to some terrorist based whatever. I would know that I didn't see any traces of that. But once that determination was made, I'm an American, first of all, and I have to put my own subjectivity to decide.

Yes, he moved to the UK. He made his headquarters here in the northern city of Sheffield, and began looking for new investors.

Armed with this glossy brochure on the UK operation, yes, Ian came back to Australia last year,

Islamic Broadcasting Corporation, a unique investment opportunity, it will host up to 50 multimedia TV channels and five radio stations, potentially serving 1.2 billion viewers across the globe

is a person of great honor. And he takes his position as a as a representative of Islam very seriously. And he says time and time and again, that all his books and all these operations are completely open for anybody that wants to go through those papers. At the purpose of life center in Sheffield.

For right now, that's sort of like the hub

for the work that we're doing.

Because the purpose of life center isn't, is an institution. It's not just an office, the Islamic teaching Institute, Georgia, USA, it has been responsible for more than 11,000 persons accepting Islam worldwide. And more than 3000 since the unfortunate September 11. incident. Sheikh Khalid is well known and respected around the world for the work he does, in propagating the message of Islam, essentially in contact with non Muslims. And I think he's worth more than anything probably, is where his accreditation lies. I say to you, that whatever qualifications I have, they are subjective. And I don't even care. And if if there was a choice for holiday, I see I would take any

qualification academic qualification I have and I throw it out the window and I choose it whatever qualifications other qualification I have, whatever convictions I have, will stand on their own. If I were a Buddhist, if I were a Hindu, if I were a Christian, if I were

born again, evangelists, would that frighten anybody? No, it wouldn't. But it frightens people because I'm a Muslim. I say that that is because of the atmosphere of prejudice that has been fostered by

since sensationalist, hungry, desperate, prejudicial, scandalous journalists, who can't seem to find any other store. Shame on them. Shaykh Khalid yacine Sarah Ferguson with that report, the producer, Nick rushworth, the researcher annalee Taylor.