Wissam Haddad: Islamic preacher’s ‘vile’ Jew sermons declared racist by Federal Court

An Islamist preacher can no longer make disparaging remarks about Jews in public after a landmark ruling on his speeches, in which he described them as vile and treacherous.

Sydney-based Al Madina Dawah Centre cleric Wissam Haddad was accused of racial discrimination in relation to a series of fiery sermons, which have racked up thousands of views online, since November 2023.

In the speeches, the preacher, also known as Abu Ousayd, referred to Jewish people as vile, treacherous, murderous, and mischievous.

Justice Angus Stewart on Tuesday found the speeches were disparaging and likely to offend, insult, harass or intimidate Jewish people.

“The imputations include age-old tropes against Jewish people that are fundamentally racist and anti-Semitic,” Justice Stewart said.

“They make perverse generalisations against Jewish people as a group.”

During the landmark case testing the limits of religious expression and hate speech, two Jewish leaders argued the online lectures were offensive and could incite violence towards Jews.

They sought the removal of the published speeches, a public declaration of error and an order restraining Mr Haddad from making similar comments in future.

Mr Haddad denied breaching anti-discrimination laws and claimed he was delivering historical and religious lectures on events from the Koran to contextualise the war in Gaza.

He said he was speaking about “Jews of faith” rather than ethnicity while trying to explain that “what the Israeli government is doing to the people of Gaza” is “not something new”.

Ruling against the preacher would be tantamount to restricting the free exercise of religious expression, Mr Haddad’s lawyer argued.

Justice Stewart rejected the defence on Tuesday and ordered Mr Haddad to remove the speeches.

He directed the preacher not to make any further comments that convey similar disparaging imputations.

Mr Haddad has also been ordered to foot the legal bill for Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim and deputy president Robert Goot.

The preacher did not appear in the Federal Court when Justice Stewart handed down his decision, arriving late.

His speeches were delivered during a time of heightened sensitivity after the designated terror group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, sparking Israeli retaliation that has left the Gaza Strip in turmoil.

The reporting of the war prompted questions and concerns from Mr Haddad’s congregants and at the same time left Jewish Australians feeling unsafe, the court was told.