Australian Islamic groups condemn gang rapes

Islamic groups in Australia held a crisis meeting today to condemn a series of brutal gang rapes by young Muslim men.

Their young victims were lured from train stations and shopping centres in western Sydney.

Revelations that the 14 attackers were almost all young Muslim men of Lebanese descent and that all their victims were non-Muslim women and girls rocked the city, which prides itself on being a tolerant, multi-cultural melting pot.

The men have been convicted or pleaded guilty to their roles in five gang rapes over a two-month period two years ago.

Most have not yet been sentenced. One who has, Belal Hajeid, was jailed for 23 years.

Recent courtroom testimony revealed that some of the men - either born in Lebanon or descendants of Lebanese immigrants - hurled racial abuse at their victims during the rapes.

Media reports of defendants laughing and chatting in court without remorse have also fanned anti-Muslim feeling.

‘‘There has been hate mail, calls, people being taunted in the street,’’ Kuranda Seyit, said a spokesman for the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils today.

Harassment of Muslims also followed the September 11 terror attacks in the US.

Some Sydney mosques were torched and a school bus carrying Muslim children was stoned in the aftermath of the attacks.

About 300,000 Muslims live in Australia, many of them immigrating to Sydney from troublespots in the Middle East.

‘‘These boys are misguided and quite sadistic lads who have no real scruples and have used a form of terror and intimidation using racial slurs,’’ Seyit said.

‘‘The people who perpetrated the rapes are criminals. They disassociated themselves from their religion.’’

Islamic groups have rejected assertions that the rapes were racially motivated. But most callers to Sydney radio stations and even senior MPs have insisted race played a part in the attacks.

‘‘Yes, racial considerations had been injected into this. But it had been injected by the shockingly cruel, appalling and inhumane comments by the perpetrators of this crime,’’ said Bob Carr, political leader of New South Wales state.

In an editorial today, Sydney’s tabloid Daily Telegraph labelled the attacks ‘‘loathsome racist acts’’.

The paper said one of the attackers had a text message stored in his mobile phone that read: ‘‘When you are feeling down ... bash a Christian or Catholic to lift up.’’

A senior Lebanese Muslim cleric blamed parents for virtually segregating their children, leading to a culture of alienation.

‘‘We as a community have to educate our children that while we are naturally proud of our religion and background we should also be proud to be Australians,’’ Sheikh Khalil Chami said.