An Australian mosque has honored Hezbollah terrorists killed in attacks on Israel as “martyrs” during special memorial services.
About 400 worshipers attended Masjid Arrahman, also known as Al Rahman Mosque, in Sydney’s southwestern suburb of Kingsgrove on Saturday to pay tribute to fallen terrorists Taha Abbas Abbas, Ali Marmar and Hussam Ibrahim.
Hezbollah announced on Wednesday that Abbas and Marmar were killed by an IDF drone strike while firing mortar shells into Israel from southern Lebanon, while Ibrahim was killed by Israeli shelling earlier this month.
Imam Sheikh Youssef Nabha of Al Rahman Mosque called the three men martyrs who engaged in “jihad” during the 90-minute service, according to the translation of a participant’s Arabic sermon obtained by The Australian.
Sydney Imam Sheikh Youssef Nabha (pictured) held a service to commemorate the ‘martyrs’ of Hezbollah
Sheikh Nabha accused Israel of having a plan to “exterminate” the Palestinians.
The Jewish state continues to shoot down rockets on its territory after a series of terror attacks and rocket attacks by Hamas on October 7, killing 1,400 Israeli civilians.
The sheikh also criticized US support for Israel and was scathing of the Australian media.
“The (Daily Telegraph), Sky News – they condemn us and tell us to stop, but we have been doing this for years,” the sheikh said.
He accused the media of portraying Muslims as dangerous, but said his congregation was peaceful.
The imam said authorities had contacted him before the service but insisted the service would be peaceful.
Private security was present for the service and marked police cars patrolled the road around the mosque during the hearing.
The sheikh called on believers to help Gazans, even though there was little people in Australia could do.
Sheikh Nabha told a packed congregation at Masjid Arrahman in Sydney’s south-west that Israel had a plan to exterminate the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip (stock image)
Hezbollah terrorists Taha Abbas Abbas (left) and Hussam Ibrahim (right) are pictured
Hezbollah terrorist Ali Machmad Marmar (photo) who was killed by Israeli shelling
A similar service was held at Arncliffe’s Al Zahra Mosque, also in Sydney’s south-west, for three other Hezbollah martyrs who died in the fight against Israel: Mahdi Muhammad Atwi, Ibrahim Habib Aldebek and Hussain Abbas Fasaee.
Last week, Hezbollah announced in a pamphlet that the three would be commemorated as ‘Shaheed’ – the Arabic term for ‘martyr’.
Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dvir Abramovich called the services “a stain” on Australia
“I feel sick to my stomach at this stomach-churning celebration of Hezbollah’s evil, carnage and cult death, which will shock the conscience of every Australian,” he told The Australian.
“How can anyone in a house of worship honor mass murderers and terrorists?
“At a time when anti-Semitism is on the rise in this country, this ‘memorial service’ … will be a stain on the community that will never be erased.”
A leaflet advertising the service for the three Hezbollah terrorists, held in Sydney’s south-west
With 20,000 fighters, Hezbollah is one of the most powerful paramilitary forces in the Middle East, with Iran believed to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars to the Islamic extremists every year.
Israel is preparing a major ground attack on Gaza following Hamas raids on October 7, which resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths and around 200 hostages taken by the group, which is also returning from Iran.
Since that attack, Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Force have been firing across Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.
Israel has vowed to cut off “the head of the snake” and launch a military attack on Iran if Hezbollah joins the war.
Nir Barkat, Israel’s economy minister, warned on Sunday that Iran’s ayatollahs “will be wiped off the face of the earth” if Hezbollah, their proxy terror group in Lebanon, attacks Israel.
