Muslim Khaloar Abdarahim holds a placard which reads "Not in my name"
Muslim Khaloar Abdarahim holds a placard which reads "Not in my name" as he poses inside the Arrahma Mosque after Friday prayers in Nantes, western France, September 26, 2014 after a gathering to pay tribute to French mountain guide Herve Gourdel who was beheaded by an Algerian Islamist group. Thousands of French Muslims, who at 5 million make up about eight percent of the population, are set to rally across the country on Friday to protest Islamic State, which many say does not represent their religion. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott called Hizb ut-Tahrir, the religious group which preaches radical Islam, as "un-Islamic." He also labelled the group as "un-Australian" after Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman Wassim Doureihi had refused to criticise Islamic State beheadings.

Doureihi was got involved in a heated debate with ABC journalist Emma Alberici on Wednesday as he did not answer questions related to Islamic State strategies. At the same time, he refused to criticise the tactics of beheadings and murders of the Middle Eastern militant group. Abbott criticised the way Doureihi handled the issue of terrorism on television. He said that, while the group had cautious avoided advocating terrorism, it also gave excuses to justify the action of terrorist organisations like the Islamic State. He said that Hizb ut-Tahrir had the ideology of justifying terrorism, and that was the reason he called it "un-Australian."

Abbott spoke to Fairfax Radio on Thursday as he called the "Islamic" group as "un-Islamic." Abbott further clarified the labelling by saying that "no respectable Muslim" should have similar opinions. While Abbott clarified earlier that Australia could not ban such organisations as those were not directly involved in any terrorist activities. However, he also said that new laws would be made to ban such organisations for "promoting" terrorism with "hate" speeches against the West.

The Australian PM also reminded that conservative commentator Andrew Bolt had been prosecuted for his article which was "relatively mild" in comparison to what the group would preach. SBS quoted Abbott giving the example of Bolt to compare his article with Hizb ut-Tahrir preaching in terms of being "objectionable." "Well certainly if poor old Andrew Bolt is prosecuted for a relatively mild piece," he said, "If we are looking for objectionable speech, the kind of stuff we are hearing from Hizb ut-Tahrir is infinitely more objectionable than anything you'd ever hear from Andrew Bolt."

Doureihi earlier claimed that Australia was guilty of being an accomplice in the killings of several Muslims around the globe. Abbott dismissed his claim as he said that Australia was, in fact, "defending millions of Muslims" who would otherwise be victims of the Islamic State. Abbott also said that Australia would hope to do the same in Afghanistan as well.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au