freediver wrote on May 11^th, 2007 at 10:35am:


I don't think people would stop giving him money, since the money was mainly the mosque collections (kind of like when the tray gets passed around at church). It's not like someone gave him a few thousand dollars and said please give it to the poor and needy (although that could possibly have happened as well).

But on the issue of documentation, assuming the shiek is handing out money to poor and needy people, what kind of documentation would u use? surely, u can't request a receipt when ur giving money to a homeless man.

What do charities usually do in terms of documentation?

freediver wrote on May 11^th, 2007 at 10:48am:


yeah, but he wasn't handing out his salary, he was mainly handing out collections from the mosque. i'm assuming the mosque still receives collections from muslims that use the mosque.

Quote:


okay, i get what ur saying, but charity can take many forms, be it food, clothing, shelter or money.
so if u give a person money, the only paperwork would be if u request a receipt.

freediver wrote on May 11^th, 2007 at 11:14am:


yeah, but who is their right mind would ask a poor person to give them a receipt??
the whole point of charity is that it's done in good faith, and people trust religious leaders to use the money accordingly.

Iran call sparks Hilali sedition probe
Natalie O'Brien
May 14, 2007

AUSTRALIAN mufti Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali is under investigation over whether his call for the Muslim world to unite behind Iran breached sedition laws by urging assistance to an enemy of the state.
Australian Federal Police officers interviewed Sheik Hilali last Tuesday over his call to Muslims to "stand in the trenches" with Iran, described by US President George W. Bush as a member of the "axis of evil".

Sheik Hilali said yesterday he had told the AFP the phrase, delivered in Arabic in April, translated in English to the less literal "in the same boat" or "sharing the same fate".

He said the interview, on Iran's Alalam television, was about promoting world peace and had nothing to do with inciting trouble.

Alalam on its website had quoted the disputed leader of Australia's 300,000 Muslims as saying the global Islamic nation would not "kneel" to its enemies and should unite with Iran. "The mufti of Australia has called on the Islamic world to stand in the trenches with the Islamic Republic of Iran which possesses the might and power," the website reported.

No one has been charged since Australia's sedition laws were tightened in late 2005. The maximum penalty is seven years' jail. Sheik Hilali was cleared last week of channelling money to terrorist organisations, and he was confident of again being cleared of any wrongdoing.

The investigation comes as Sheik Hilali - whose position of mufti was abolished by the Australian National Imams Council in March - is about to make a comeback giving Friday sermons at the Lakemba Mosque, in Sydney's southwest. Sheik Hilali - who was granted a three-month stay of execution by the imams council - will return to the pulpit after a six-month self-imposed exile triggered by his comparison of rape victims to exposed meat during a Ramadan sermon last October.

Sheik Hilali says in a letter to Arabic newspapers that he had stayed away from the pulpit "of his own volition when he realised that there was a meeting of interests between some politicians, sections of the media, and some in the community who sought to eliminate the position of mufti and to remove me personally".

"Had they been successful, no cleric would be able to raise his voice or take a stand for justice," he wrote.

Citing strong community support for his return, Sheik Hilali is expected to start sermons again as early as next week.

Hilali confidant Keysar Trad said the latest allegations about the mufti's comments on Iran were part of a campaign to eliminate the position of mufti or oust the mufti himself.
Last week Sheik Hilali was cleared of any wrongdoing over allegations that he diverted funds raised by the Lebanese Muslim Association for victims of the Israel-Lebanon war to supporters of al-Qa'ida and Hezbollah.

Sheik Hilali was in Tehran for a conference when he was quoted by Alalam on April 7, two days after the Iranian regime had released 15 British sailors who had been held hostage for two weeks after being snatched in Iraqi waters.

Government ministers and Kevin Rudd strongly attacked Sheik Hilali over the comments, with John Howard last month suggesting the mufti consider leaving Australia.

In response Sheik Hilali said he had spent 50 years promoting peace and accused the Prime Minister of being a dictator. The latest police investigation comes after he made disparaging remarks about Australia's convict past on Egyptian TV, saying that Muslims had more right to be in Australia. Mr Trad explained the comments saying that the interpretation should have expressed a love for his country.

Good riddance you KUNT.
But im sure we'll be hearing from him again.

An old thread about this:

http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1174833109

http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/New-Australian-mufti-muzzled-report/2007/08/11/1186530648998.html

Australia's new Muslim leader has not delivered a sermon since taking over the role from controversial mufti Sheik Taj Aldin Alhilali in June.

Fehmi Naji el-Imam's silence is angering even his closest supporters for failing to defend Islam, The Weekend Australian reports.

Rumours about the new mufti's health and the influence of his advisers are circulating.

Muslim leaders on Friday accused the ailing 79-year-old cleric's advisers of muzzling him to protect his image at the expense of dealing with and expressing the Islamic community's concerns to wider Australia, the newspaper reports.