Hilaly - dubious hero

...hero?

From Herald Sun: Our dubious hero [17jun05] by Andrew Bolt....

EXCUSE me for interrupting our big-noting Mufti for a second to give the credit where it's truly due.

... it was the Iraqi army's 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, that freed Wood after an exchange of fire with the hostage takers.

...But be gentle in telling that to Sheik Taj El-Din El-Hilaly, ...who in an early appeal to Wood's captors, said: "We value your jihad and your efforts." Of course, the Mufti may have said that only to flatter the kidnappers...

...Officials say ...they genuinely appreciate his help. Some feel his appeals may have helped to keep Wood alive during his 47 days in captivity.

...Hilaly does have a record of preaching hate, from the time he said Jews "control the world" by "buggery, espionage, treason and economic hoarding", to his sermon calling the September 11 attacks "God's work against oppressors".

...When news of Wood's release finally broke on Thursday, Hilaly spokesman Keysar Trad rushed to the TV studios to give a self-serving and entirely fictitious account of what happened. He claimed Hilaly played a "key role" in this "negotiated release" with insurgents who merely wanted "a better deal for orphans" and women. So sweet.

..."He said to me that this had been a prearranged pickup, that the location had been communicated ...to the Australian taskforce." Wood was then handed over, with no shooting, in Ramadi, 110km west of Baghdad.

In fact, Hilaly did not tip off the Australians, and Wood was found in Ghazaliya, a Baghdad suburb. According to General Naseer al-Abadi, the Iraqi army's deputy chief of staff, this was no "prearranged pickup", but a raid in which two men were arrested. He said his soldiers had to wrestle past Wood's kidnappers, who claimed they had no one inside but their sick father. One insurgent even fired into the room.

...CNN reports (that Wood) said he'd been in the same Baghdad house for 35 days.

So praise Hilaly for helping Wood, but also ask how much he can be trusted. For the sake of our many moderate Muslims, also ask our Australian Federation of Islamic Councils: Is this Mufti really the best you've got?

bolta@heraldsun.com.au

Join Andrew's interactive forum on www.heraldsun.com.au/andrewbolt


For an "amusing" report of Hilaly's 2004 visit to Lebanon in have a look at http://www.ci-ce-ct.com/Feature%20articles/09-05-2004.asp