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NSW Premier Chris Minns has vowed that a prayer hall where a controversial Islamic preacher held “racist, antisemitic” lectures will remain closed, while also warning Sydneysiders to expect heavily armed police on New Year’s Eve.
The premier also revealed discussions were being held about potentially deploying the army to protect Jewish institutions and flagged the possibility of arming a community group that acts as a security force at synagogues, Jewish events and institutions.
Two weeks on from the antisemitic attack that left 15 people dead, Minns said it would be a “disaster” if Al Madina Dawah Centre in southwestern Sydney were to reopen, adding “the time for confronting that kind of division in our community is long overdue”.
Wissam Haddad had delivered numerous hardline sermons to scores of Muslim men in the Al Madina Dawah Centre since April 2021.
Three by Haddad in late 2023 contained “devastatingly offensive” imputations that were based on the race or ethnicity of the Australian Jewish community, the Federal Court ruled in July.
Talking to reporters on Sunday as he returned to the scene of the Bondi massacre, Minns said: “The verdict’s in on this prayer hall and any other prayer halls that are found to have preachers that are responsible for racism in our community.”
“Anyone who is found to have preached hate or put hate in the hearts of anyone in our community should have their prayer halls shut down as soon as possible.
“The government will take action to ensure we are in a position to close down, by turning off the utilities, the water and electricity, of anyone who is deemed to use their premises without the lawful permission of the local council or the New South Wales government.”
The closure of the prayer centre in Canterbury-Bankstown was more than just a result of controversial remarks by Haddad. On Tuesday, the local city council highlighted that the facility was housed in an aging building that had never been officially approved for use as a religious centre.
The building, on Kitchener Parade in Bankstown, was only recently approved to operate as a medical centre.
Changing the use to a prayer hall, or place of worship, requires development consent, which had not been sought, the council said.
“We have issued the cease use notices, which will be effective immediately. There are no compromises, and we will be taking further action if they don’t comply,” a council spokesperson said.
The centre said its closure was not permanent. “This pause is purely to ensure full compliance with council requirements and to obtain the necessary approvals,” it said in a statement on Tuesday.
‘Thumb your nose at the terrorists’
While in Bondi on Sunday, Minns also called on Sydney residents to come out in droves to support local businesses and celebrate the new year.
“Because of the weird ideology of some of these terrorists, what they want is for us to crawl up into a ball and not have fun with our family and friends during this Christmas period,” he said after visiting a local cafe.
“So I’m calling on the people of Sydney to step out, to do what you would ordinarily do, to thumb your nose at the terrorists.”
Police will carry long-arm firearms on New Year’s Eve as the city goes ahead with its traditional fireworks display.
“That will be confronting for some people,” Minns acknowledged.
“I have spoken to a lot of parents, and they would feel far more comfortable if there was a major police presence. And that includes with the firepower that’s required to confront some evil terrorists on a bridge in Bondi, if those circumstances were to repeat.”
Minns revealed discussions were being had about potentially deploying the army to protect Jewish institutions, but said he didn’t want to front-run details.
“There’s a big challenge ahead of us to rebuild Jewish life in Sydney, so I’m not going to take anything off the table,” he said.
He also flagged potentially arming the Community Security Group, which is operated by volunteers and support staff, to provide a visible presence at synagogues, Jewish events and institutions.
“That is a step that we haven’t taken in the past, but the truth of the matter is, when it comes to ensuring that the community, the Jewish community in this case, feels safe within their own community when they have community events, we need to be able to show and demonstrate that there is going to be security in place to deal with the threat,” he said.
“That’s one of the things that we’re actively looking at, as well as changes to security protocol for future events in Sydney,” he added.
Referring to the Bondi shooting, he said: While there were police on site, [it was] clearly, clearly not enough to deal with the threat, as history has tragically shown.”
Minns rejects criticism of protest ban
Minns said he would have more to say on a possible extension of the designation, which can be in place for up to three months.
He rejected criticism from former Supreme Court judge Anthony Whealy, who said it risked worsening antisemitism because protests provided a pressure valve for people opposed to Israel’s war in Gaza.
“I think what it actually does is it adds to the slippery slope of inflammatory rhetoric that ends up scaling up the more it occurs,” the premier said.
