Natalie O'Brien | August 27, 2008
A MEMBER of John Howard's Muslim Community Reference Group has told how he was asked to analyse the content of 3000 books and about 40,000 pages downloaded from the internet found in the home-office of a Sydney man accused of producing a book encouraging terrorist acts.
Samier Dandan told the NSW Supreme Court yesterday he spent two days trawling through an extensive library in the Lakemba home of Belal Saadallah Khazaal and found the material was of a "general nature" about Islamic law.
"Most of the stuff was of a general nature on Islamic jurisprudence: on marriage, fasting, prayers, divorce," Mr Dandan said yesterday.
Mr Dandan told the court he understood Mr Khazaal was a writer for a Sydney-based magazine, was part of its publishing team and was the author of two books in Arabic.
Mr Khazaal has pleaded not guilty to knowingly making a document connected with assistance in a terrorist act and to attempting to incite a terrorist act.
It is alleged that the offences occurred between September and October 2003.
The Crown is alleging that Mr Khazaal put together the book, The Provision on the Rules of Jihad: Short Judicial Rulings and Organisational Instructions for Fighters and Mujahideen Against Infidels, which promoted acts of violence or terrorism against non-Muslims, and had it published on an internet website.
The book includes assassination methods and reasons for assassinations, as well as a hit-list of nations to be targeted, including Australia.
Counsel for Mr Khazaal, George Thomas, said all the material in the book was publicly available and his client had not written any of it save for a few paragraphs.
The case against Mr Khazaal was circumstantial, he said.
Mr Dandan, a former vice-president of Australia's largest Muslim group, the Lebanese Muslim Association, said he audited the material in Mr Khazaal's home office, which included 3000 books, 40,000 pages printed from the internet, 2600 audio tapes, 600 videos and 1000 magazines.
The trial is continuing before judge Megan Latham.
A MEMBER of John Howard's Muslim Community Reference Group has told how he was asked to analyse the content of 3000 books and about 40,000 pages downloaded from the internet found in the home-office of a Sydney man accused of producing a book encouraging terrorist acts.
Samier Dandan told the NSW Supreme Court yesterday he spent two days trawling through an extensive library in the Lakemba home of Belal Saadallah Khazaal and found the material was of a "general nature" about Islamic law.
"Most of the stuff was of a general nature on Islamic jurisprudence: on marriage, fasting, prayers, divorce," Mr Dandan said yesterday.
Mr Dandan told the court he understood Mr Khazaal was a writer for a Sydney-based magazine, was part of its publishing team and was the author of two books in Arabic.
Mr Khazaal has pleaded not guilty to knowingly making a document connected with assistance in a terrorist act and to attempting to incite a terrorist act.
It is alleged that the offences occurred between September and October 2003.
The Crown is alleging that Mr Khazaal put together the book, The Provision on the Rules of Jihad: Short Judicial Rulings and Organisational Instructions for Fighters and Mujahideen Against Infidels, which promoted acts of violence or terrorism against non-Muslims, and had it published on an internet website.
The book includes assassination methods and reasons for assassinations, as well as a hit-list of nations to be targeted, including Australia.
Counsel for Mr Khazaal, George Thomas, said all the material in the book was publicly available and his client had not written any of it save for a few paragraphs.
The case against Mr Khazaal was circumstantial, he said.
Mr Dandan, a former vice-president of Australia's largest Muslim group, the Lebanese Muslim Association, said he audited the material in Mr Khazaal's home office, which included 3000 books, 40,000 pages printed from the internet, 2600 audio tapes, 600 videos and 1000 magazines.
The trial is continuing before judge Megan Latham.
Source: The Australian
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