(Transcript from World News Radio)
The Muslim group Hizb ut-Tahrir has accused the federal government of manufacturing the threat the group allegedly poses in Australia.
Next week, Prime Minister Tony Abbott is expected to detail legislative steps against the group, already banned in several other countries.
Hizb ut-Tahrir has hurriedly organised a media conference in a bid to dispel what it says are misconceptions around what it stands for.
Darren Mara reports.
The controversial Muslim group Hizb ut-Tahrir says the Federal Government is unfairly targeting it for criticism.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has called for a crackdown on the group and raised the possibility of banning it, as some other countries already have done.
The Prime Minister is expected to release his first national-security statement on Monday, when he will outline his case for tougher counter-terrorism measures.
Mr Abbott says the terrorism threat to Australia is real and serious, and he is urging Labor to quickly pass new data-retention laws to help counter it.
A spokesman for the Australian branch of Hizb-ut-Tahrir, Wassim Doureihi, says the government is discriminating against his group.
And he has told a media conference in western Sydney large sections of the nation's media are doing the same.
"Abbott could not succeed in his fearmongering unless he was supported by a reliable pool of willing accomplices. It seems some in the media are the disciples of Abbott's extreme ideology."
Amid speculation of a ban on Hizb ut-Tahrir, Mr Doureihi has questioned exactly what would be banned.
He says the group does not have a licence to function as a political party and, therefore, no licence could be withdrawn.
"Hizb ut-Tahrir is a party of ideas. Is Tony Abbott suggesting that he's willing to ban ideas? Or the expression of ideas?"
Hizb ut-Tahrir says Muslims in Australia are now faced with the prospect of a two-tiered legal system.
The group argues the state apparatus is being used to prevent Musilms from expressing themselves and their faith.
But in a statement, Mr Abbott's office says the government is committed to the freedoms of speech and religion.
It says, with over 30 returned foreign fighters in the country, the proposed counter-terrorism laws are an appropriate response to the terrorism threat in Australia.
The statement says there is no place in the community for organisations or individuals who nurture extremism, propagate hatred and radicalise vulnerable young Australians.
The Prime Minister has accused Hizb ut-Tahrir of justifying terrorism and acting as a recruiting agent.
Hizb ut-Tahrir argues it does not support the self-proclaimed Islamic State, or IS, group, which controls large parts of Iraq and Syria.
Mr Doureihi, who refused to publicly condemn IS when interviewed on television last year, says he is not interested in what he calls the superficial politics of condemnation.
"The Government's approach to Islam is one of institutionalised paternalism. Muslims are defined through the prism of national security, which introduces the need for state policing. The Government seeks to exaggerate the size and influence of Hizb ut-Tahrir to justify its scaremongering efforts against Islam and Muslims."
SBS reporter Rena Sarumpaet was at the group's meeting.
She says it included the group's leaders, a media pack and a large number of supporters.
"Hizb ut-Tahrir is a group that globally aspires to a caliphate governed by sharia law, and last night in Lakemba, in Sydney, we saw a fairly robust response to the idea of a ban. This 'emergency' media conference saw some local leaders hitting back hard."
Rena Sarumpaet says the mood at the gathering was combative.
"I say combative because, a few times, some media organisations that have maybe reported adversely on Hizb ut-Tahrir weren't allowed to (ask) questions. A couple of the reporters were told, 'Well, if you apologise for your lies, then we'll answer your question.' And there were a lot of cheers at that point. So that was the kind of mood."
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