Dylan Welch, National Security Correspondent
November 15, 2011
A file image of Ismail Al-Wahwah speaking at a rally organised by Hizb ut-tahrir in Lakemba. Photo: Steven Siewert
A CONTROVERSIAL Australian sheikh has been left stranded in Jordan after authorities confiscated his Australian passport, possibly in relation to his membership of an international group that advocates a global Islamic caliphate.
Ismail al-Wahwah, a Hebron-born sheikh who lives in Sydney, had finished the haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia and travelled to Jordan to visit family.
But upon arrival at Amman airport his passport was confiscated, leaving him stranded.
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Sheikh al-Wahwah is a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is banned in Jordan.
The Australian spokesman for the group, Uthman Badar, said the confiscation was likely on behalf of Jordan's chief intelligence agency, the General Intelligence Directorate, and emphasised the ''urgent need of a radical and comprehensive change'' in the country.
Hizb ut-Tahrir, or party of liberation, formed in 1953 in Jerusalem, has spread to more than 40 countries and has hundreds of thousands of members. Its goal is the creation of a global pan-Islamic state.
While it advocates achieving that goal through non-violent means, it has been criticised for the fiery rhetoric of some senior members. Its global leader, Ata Abu-Rishta, in 2006 called for the ''destruction'' of Jews in Israel, Hindus in Kashmir and and Russians in Chechnya.
In 2007, Sheikh al-Wahwah was forced to fly back to Australia from Jakarta after Indonesian authorities refused him entry. He had been planning to speak at an international Hizb ut-Tahrir conference.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said it had not received a request for assistance from the Australian embassy in Amman.
