After Hate Preacher, Anti-Islamic MP Seeks Visa to Australia
Immigration Minister Chris Bowen's visa granting powers are under question again amid the growing global uproar over the anti-Islam video posted on YouTube which caused the death of an American ambassador and injury to hundreds, including 17 people in Australia.
While he defended the visa granted to Taji Mustafa, the British spokesman of the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, he still has to approve the application of Geert Wilders, a Dutch MP known for his anti-Islamic stand.
Mr Mustafa spoke on Sunday at the Hizb ut-Tahrir's gathering in Sydney a day after the Saturday protest of 200 Islam followers and left on Monday night. The Opposition has called for the revocation of Mr Mustafa's visa because of his being an alleged hate preacher, but Mr Bowen said Mr Mustafa is not on Australia's Movement Alert List, while Mr Wilders is on the roster.
Mr Wilders is on the list because of his previous encounters with authorities abroad which caused the United Kingdom to refuse him entry although the Dutch MP appealed and won.
Mr Wilder is slated to deliver speeches in Sydney and Melbourne in October when he is expected to delivery anti-Islam statements which some groups consider divisive and provocative. He has previously stated that Islam is a violent and dangerous religion as well as a retarded culture.
However, the Q Society, which invited the Dutch MP to speak in Australia, defended Mr Wilders.
"He has a great knowledge of Islam, he's standing up for his country, he loves his country, he loves his culture and he's standing up for it, and we ask the Australian politicians to do exactly the same," ABC quoted Andrew Horwood, spokesman of Q Society.
"Muhammad was a warlord, he was a terrorist. Maybe a terrorist worse than bin Laden ever was, at the time. Look at what he did in his time in the past, in his Medina time. This is not the example to follow," ABC quoted Mr Wilders, who once compared the Quran, which Muslims consider their holy book, to Hitler's Mein Kampf.
Mr Bowen said it was not uncommon for complex application to take several weeks to process, but refused to discuss the Dutch MPs visa application for privacy. He stressed there is no decision yet on Mr Wilder's visa application which has been pending for three weeks.
