TERRORISING women, frightening children and the elderly, breaking down doors in the middle of the night and pointing guns at civilians was behaviour that ran counter to the best interests of Australia, the spiritual leader of the nation’s Muslims, Sheik Taj Din al- Hilali, said yesterday.

Speaking in Arabic and English at Australia’s largest mosque, at Lakemba in Sydney’s southwest, Sheik Hilali slammed Australia’s new terrorism laws and this week’s terror raids as racially based and an assault on the country’s civilians.

The association singled out Peter Costello, who this week told Muslims wanting to live under Sharia law to leave Australia, for his “unjustified, unacceptable and hatred-instigating statements”. The statement urged the Treasurer to be a role model for Australia by advocating harmony and respect for diversity, “the essence of true Islam”.

TERRORISING women, frightening children and the elderly, breaking down doors in the middle of the night and pointing guns at civilians was behaviour that ran counter to the best interests of Australia, the spiritual leader of the nation’s Muslims, Sheik Taj Din al- Hilali, said yesterday.

Speaking in Arabic and English at Australia’s largest mosque, at Lakemba in Sydney’s southwest, Sheik Hilali slammed Australia’s new terrorism laws and this week’s terror raids as racially based and an assault on the country’s civilians.

He said the force used in the raids was “disproportionate, exaggerated” and reminded many Muslim immigrants of the countries they had left, with “dawn raids as in dictatorial countries”.

“Breaking down the doors on women, children, elderly and sick people, with rifles aimed at people with lights attached to them, handcuffing people … These are acts against civilians. Are we living in Australia? This is not manhood or heroism, this is driven by racists around you,”

Sheik Hilali said Muslim women were now sleeping in their traditional headscarves, the hijab, to avoid being violated in raids.

“Is this freedom and democracy?” he asked.

The Mufti of Australia expressed concern the raids and the negative publicity might frighten Muslim youth away from the moderating influence of the mosque, from “receiving knowledge from solace as their parents tell them”.

And he offered a troubling warning that the raids could drive “youths back to their deviant lives and to do things in secret that do not help the nation’s security”.

Shiek Hilali’s outburst yesterday came just three days after a series of counter-terrorist arrests across Sydney and Melbourne, when he initially took a far more conciliatory line.

On Tuesday, Sheik Hilali used a radio address to his community to call for patience and more time to gather information about the operation.

But by yesterday his tone had changed.

Sheik Hilali said the laws and security operations against a community that considered itself an integral part of society was not in the best interests of Australia.

“To gain the support of the people and the media, a politician uses force to show himself as a superman or power-man,” he said.

“These laws were invented to cure a disease that the country is not infected with.

“The recent raids were actions of prevention, but has not prevention to be built on wisdom, mercy, respect and upholding human rights?”

The Lebanese Muslim Association supported Sheik Hilali’s comments yesterday, saying it was sickened by “political and media scavengers” who were abusing the current period of fragility.

The association singled out Peter Costello, who this week told Muslims wanting to live under Sharia law to leave Australia, for his “unjustified, unacceptable and hatred-instigating statements”. The statement urged the Treasurer to be a role model for Australia by advocating harmony and respect for diversity, “the essence of true Islam”.