108 · Suzanne D. Rutland
version of Islam,” and his argument that this “indoctrination is provided
in private schools, religious seminars, mosque schools, holiday camps,
and, increasingly, prisons”^33 applies to Australia. It can also be argued
that Saudi funding was provided to stop other Islamic groups, especially
the non-Salafists, from funding Muslim schools and other institutions.^34
A recent phenomenon has been the conversion of a number of Aborigines
to Islam while they are in prison.^35
Some underprivileged young Muslims are drawn to firebrand preach-
ings of radical Muslims and clerics. In 2002, Imam Imran Hosein gave a
lecture on Jerusalem in the Quran, which was a strong attack on Jews,
Judaism, and the state of Israel. Sheikh Khalid Yasin, an African Ameri-
can convert and radical Islamist, has visited Australia on a number of
occasions. In Sydney in July 2005 he stated that non-Muslims cannot be
trusted or be true friends as they do not know what sanctity means.^36
A description of his charismatic appeal, especially to young Muslims,
noted: “The Muslim youth have copped an absolute battering in the me-
dia since 1998, which has, and I’ve seen it first-hand, which has affected
their self-esteem and their confidence. Khalid Yasin instils a lot of pride
in the youth and reminds them that, as Muslims, they’ve got a lot to
be proud of.”^37 Commentators note that some young Muslims are be-
ing drawn to the preachings of hardline imams, such as Sheikh Moham-
med Omran in Melbourne and Sheikh Abdul Salam Mohammed Zoud in
Sydney.^38
Muslim bookshops located in the Sydney suburb of Lakemba and the
Melbourne suburb of Brunswick sell Islamic literature preaching hatred
or violence as well as anti-Semitic publications such as the Protocols of the
Elders of Zion in Arabic.^39 For example, a children’s board game with the
aim of conquering Jerusalem, with many symbols of violence, was sold
at a Muslim bookstore in Sydney in 2005. Much of this material emanates
from Saudi Arabia and is translated in London. It includes titles such as
Ideological Attack and Defence of Muslim Lands, with the latter advocating
suicide bombings and jihad.
Many problematic websites are easily accessible. For example, the
“Mission Islam” website promotes blatantly anti-Semitic material. It in-
cludes the Protocols and a section entitled “The Truth about the Talmud,”
which, according to the 2007 ECAJ report on anti-Semitism, “contained
a list of fraudulent and out-of-context statements designed to portray
Judaism as ridiculously and violently hostile to all non-Jews.”^40 Another