Australian extremist in NZ to wage war on Islam

Anti-war MP GEORGE GALLOWAY was recently suspended for 18 days from the British Parliament by pro-war politicians he has been fighting for decades. In the longest investigation in its history, a Westminster parliamentary committee found that Mr Galloway was innocent of any corruption, contrary to the smears of Tony Blair and George Bush, but suspended him anyway.

The 10-person committee of pro-war, anti-Palestinian politicians were upset that "proper respect" was not shown to them as they hounded the one British MP who has all along opposed the unjust and murderous occupation of Iraq.

Mr Galloway has all along linked George Bush's so-called "War on Terror" with the global spread of Islamophobia, saying that Muslims and their faith are being demonised in a bid to legitimise the US state's crusade for oil and power. The British MP shot to world fame in 2005 when he testified before the US Senate and in effect put George Bush and his cronies "on trial" for war crimes.

Mr Galloway will be speaking against Islamophobia in Auckland on 27-29 July at Voices of Peace meetings hosted by RAM, the Residents Action Movement. (Meeting details below.)

"Voices of Peace is being held to counter the first stirrings of organised Islamophobia in New Zealand," said RAM organiser Grant Morgan.

Grant Morgan said: "A group of right-wing Christian extremists from Australia are now in New Zealand to spread a message of hatred towards Muslims and Islam. They claim that Islam is the 'anti-Christ' and that Muslims are 'on the march' to take control of New Zealand. They allege that Muslims will destroy democracy here and force everyone to 'submit' to Islam, or else be enslaved or killed. They call for the 'mother' of all 'spiritual wars' to be waged against 'evil' Islam."

One of the main "Mosques and Miracles" speakers is Daniel Shayesteh, an extreme right Christian preacher from Sydney. His ministry in Australia, called "Exodus from Darkness", seeks to convert Muslims to his version of fundamentalist Christianity through a lurid depiction of Islam as the satanic force of darkness.

Shayesteh claims to be a convert from an Islamic revolutionary organisation in Iran. He was elected to Khomeini's government in 1981, but after political disagreements with the Iranian regime he fled to Turkey in 1988. From there he entered Australia with the help of fundamentalist Christians. He taught business at the University of Technology in Sydney for eight years…

In a letter to New Zealand's "Investigate" magazine (July 2007), Shayesteh wrote that he is "speaking out" to people in the West about the "dangers of Islam". Since 2003, he said, "I have been travelling worldwide, including NZ, to spread awareness [about Islam]"

Shayesteh is funded by several extreme right Christian groups, including The Christian & Missionary Alliance (a US-based evangelical coalition which is antagonistic to Islam) and Open Doors (a closed-door organisation which sees Christianity as a "persecuted church"). The New Zealand chapter of Open Doors is organising the "Mosques and Miracles" conferences in Wellington (25-26 July) and Auckland (27-28 July).

In New Zealand, Shayesteh is uncritically supported by "Challenge Weekly" newspaper which circulates widely inside right-wing Baptist and fundamentalist churches.

"[The Qur'an] is a book of war, which turns Muslims against the world," alleges Syahesteh on his website. "Jihad is the Arabic word for 'war' against non-Muslims... It's very important for people in the West to understand that Islam is not a religion of peace. Any Muslim who doesn't get involved in Jihad is sinning. That's the doctrine of Islam."

Another Shayesteh quote: "...Muslims want you to accept Islam as your religion; otherwise, they are not going to stop terrorism. To stop fighting against infidels is a sin in Islam."

And another: "Islam is the only religion that decrees the demolishing of other religions even to the cost of killing their followers unless they follow Muhammad."

Shayesteh's website (www.ministryblue.com/exodus) is full of similar quotes More quotes appear below.

Shayesteh is closely linked to the reverend Fred Nile, national president of Australia's ultra-conservative Christian Democratic Party who was elected to the New South Wales parliament. Nile has advocated a moratorium on Muslim immigration into Australia and a ban on Muslims being elected to the NSW parliament. Shayesteh, on his website, praises Nile for being "a heart for this nation" and for his "support of what I am doing".

RAM's Grant Morgan said:"RAM is organising Voices of Peace as a positive alternative to their racism against Muslims. RAM supports the values of social inclusion, equal rights for all and world peace. We are heartened by the groundswell of support that Voices of Peace is receiving from grassroots people. And we are proud to have such a powerful voice for world peace as George Galloway on our platform," said Grant Morgan.

ENDS

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