Mustapha and Diaa Kara-Ali reportedly laughed when the judge handed down the punishment today in Sydney’s Land and Environment Court, after they were compelled to appear for felling trees on a northwest Sydney property without council permission.
The brothers had tried to argue that the Islamic organisation they ran, Diwan Al Dawla, was exempt from Australian law on religious grounds.
They failed in their bid and were fined $100,000 for what a judge called a “flagrant” breach of a court order in relation to construction works to build a Muslim religious centre on their rural property in Colo.
They and their business were convicted on 12 charges of contempt of court.
A furious Mustapha Kara-Ali left the Court on Thursday saying: “Our religion is prime, the cross belongs in the dustbin of history.”
In his written judgment, Justice Terence Sheahan said the pair had ignored orders to appear in court and only turned up after being arrested. Mustapha had said attending court could lead to “hit squads” pursuing him. [news.com.au] Read more
