Federal Police have been called in after an Islamic group called for Muslims to be executed if they leave the religion.At Bankstown Public library on Saturday a leader of the fundamentalist, Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir made the confronting declaration.Now the group could be banned in Australia.When asked, “Do you want to kill ex-Muslims?”, it is alleged that Uthman Badar, Hizb ut-Tahrir leader replied: “In Islam is clear that apostates do attract capital punishment, we don’t shy away from that.”When it is alleged that Uthman Badar, Hizb ut-Tahrir leader, replied to the question: The group may now be banned. Source: 7 NewsHizb ut-Tahrir has a draft constitution it wants adopted in Australia. Article 7.3 reads: “Those who are guilty of apostasy from (or leaving) Islam are to be executed.”Uthman Badar has spent nearly a decade promoting radical group, but when Seven News approached him today he remained silent.The admission terrified a former Muslim who was at the meeting.”The main reason that I left my own country was that I was worried about my own safety,” said ex-Muslim, Shakil Ahmed.“And now that I’ve come over here I know that they’re the same people, they’re already over here and they want me dead as well.”Also at the meeting was his friend, who fled Bangladesh after he was put on a death list for criticising Islam.Ex-muslim, Shakil Ahmed, speaks out about his concerns. Source: 7 News”They are banned in Germany, they are banned in Turkey, they are banned in China, all those countries, so why not in Australia? Because they are dangerous,” said death list target Shubhajit Bhowmik.Another former Muslim left Pakistan to escape this kind of hate speech.”These people are making a willing choice to leave a religion that they don’t agree in, I made that choice three years ago, and for that you’re going to kill me,” said ex-Muslim Sabeena Mozaffar.Among those at the meeting were many young children.”There’s no excuse in democracies to be even suggesting this as a hypothetical possibility,” said Professor Greg Barton of Deakin University.A spokesperson for Justice Minister Michael Keenan told 7 News that the Government condemns language that incites or condones violence, saying that is not free speech.Mr Keenan has referred the matter to the AFP to investigate whether they were encouraging violence and this group could now be banned.The group is not officially registered, which will complicate any legal pursuit.Freelance journalist Alison Bevege asking the question Hizb ut-Tahrir did not respond to our questions or request for an interview.The woman who asked the question, freelance journalist Alison Bevege, believes they should be banned.”They want to destroy democracy, replace it with Sharia, they want to kill ex-Muslims, I think they’ve crossed the line,” said Ms. Bevege.The Islamist group operates in more than 40 countries, but its banned from many Muslim-majority countries, including Syria, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan and Bangladesh.However, the group can freely operate in 11 places – including Australia, the United Kingdom and Indonesia – where they have hundreds of thousands of followers.
