This is a post I had hoped to avoid making. There will be a farewell for Sheikh Mansour Leghaei, his wife Marziah, and his daugther Fatima, on Saturday June 26 at 8pm.
The gathering will take place at the Imam Husain Islamic Centre (6 Lang Road, Earlwood). It will not include dinner as the team felt that numbers would be impossible to estimate and probably impossible to cater for.
Everyone is invited. It will be a painful time in so many ways, and yet we intend to close this chapter of our campaign with dignity and thankfulness, believing that the battle for Mansour’s fundamental human rights can yet be won, and that our relationship with him is by no means over, even if, for a time, he will not be with us in person.
”It makes me sick to the stomach.” The quote is from me (Father Dave), as reported in Rick Fenley’s June 22nd article in the Sydney Morning Herald, “Time running out for sheikh told to leave“.
The quote is with reference to the way the Australian government persuaded the United Nations to withdraw their request for a stay on the deportation of Sheikh Mansour Leghaei, on the basis that they are not actually breaking up his family.
The government claimed that because they had given visas to Mansour’s wife and youngest son that they were therefore not damaging the family unit. Hoever, in reality, the Sheikh and his wife and daughter will be forced to head back to Iran with Mansour, thus leaving three sons in Australia and breaking the family in half.
As the article also makes clear though, the United Nations is still pursuing the Australian government over concerns that Australia has violated fundamental human rights treaties to which it is signatory in the way it has treated Sheikh Mansour (eg. the right of every person to a fair trial). The government has been given until October 21st to respond to the United Nations’ concerns. Read the full article here.
Another major media outlet to cover the Sheikh’s story is Al-Jazeera. As well as the clip displayed below, Al-Jazeera is considering a full-length documentary concerning the Sheikh’s treatment.
Monsignor Labib Kobti is pastor of St Thomas Moore Catholic Church in San Fransisco and is a well-known human-rights advocte, particularly well-known for his advocacy work in the Middle East. He is founder and director of Al-Bushra.org.
I, as a person from the Middle East, I know better than anybody what Islam is. Although I know that there are a lot of fanatic Muslim people, I found in the Sheikh a moderate one that can be used to be a bridge between the fanatic and the moderate. He can help Australia for the best.
Throwing out the good people is a lack of wisdom from the part of the Government. In the Middle East I found also a lot of fanatic Jewish who impose themselves on the governments and especially on the US Congress and Senate. I am sure that they do the same in Australia, they do it every where in the world. I saw also Christian fanatics, like the Christian who call themselves Evangelical Zionists.
Treating all the same way that we treat the good Sheikh can show that we are working the same justice for all. Treating only the Muslims this weird way and forgetting or forgiving the others is racism against one group.
Join us in our final stand for justice on Saturday June 19
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Posted by Father Dave under campaigns Comments Off on Save the Sheikh Canberra Rally – speeches
June 3rd, 2010 – over 1000 of us gather at Parliament House, Canberra, to protest the pending deportation of Sheikh Mansour Leghaei.
Sheikh Mansour is to be deported without trial. Despite living peacefully for 16 years in Australia and raising a family of four children, the government is deporting him without giving him any explanation.
