THE decision by Sydney’s Baulkham Hills Council to reject an application for a Muslim prayer centre has been highlighted on some international jihad web sites.

Abbas Aly, who proposed the prayer hall, was concerned to hear that Islamic radicals had taken up his cause on websites like almuhajiroun, closely linked with al-Qa’ida, and islammemo, also seen as a reliable source of al-Qa’ida information.

Islammemo.com, which was one of the first sites in the world to post al-Qa’ida’s claims of responsibility for the Mombasa bombing in Kenya, quoted Muslim leaders saying the rejection reflected “the spread of feelings of hostility against Muslims”.

THE decision by Sydney’s Baulkham Hills Council to reject an application for a Muslim prayer centre has been highlighted on some international jihad web sites.

The placement of news reports on some of the world’s most militant sites has raised fears in the northwestern suburban Bible belt community that it could become a terrorist target and has alarmed the man who lodged the prayer centre development application that drew 5000 objections.

While Mayor John Griffiths has denied the rejection of the application was racially motivated, Muslim coverage has focused on theissue of racism.

Abbas Aly, who proposed the prayer hall, was concerned to hear that Islamic radicals had taken up his cause on websites like almuhajiroun, closely linked with al-Qa’ida, and islammemo, also seen as a reliable source of al-Qa’ida information.

“I don’t like this support, I don’t want it and I don’t need it,” Mr Aly said. “This country has great laws, people here are not racist.”

He said the people behind the sites belonged to an Islamic sect he described as “dangerous”.

“They harass other Muslims, we don’t want them anywhere Baulkham Hills or anywhere near Australia.

“I would be more than happy to have these websites shut down.”

The Baulkham Hills news was placed prominently on the home page of www.almuhajiroun.com under a banner incorporating Osama bin Laden, George W. Bush and the words “Focus on Jihad”.

Al-Muhajiroun, run by Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed, contains an elaborate intellectual justification of jihad as an obligation on all Muslims. The site says the council was “accused of racism” over the rejection.

Islammemo.com, which was one of the first sites in the world to post al-Qa’ida’s claims of responsibility for the Mombasa bombing in Kenya, quoted Muslim leaders saying the rejection reflected “the spread of feelings of hostility against Muslims”.

“Many have expressed in an ambiguous manner feelings of `fear’ without referring clearly to the fears that have escalated in Australia since 11 September,” the report states.