Hilaly must go. But we can't leave it up to the Govt to do this. After all, this is the same government that is prepared to bend the rules for the likes of Alan Jones and others.

I'm not aware of anything Hilaly saying causing a riot of the same proportion as Cronulla in December 2005. That doesn't justify anything he says. It just means that those who condemn Hilaly should be consistent and condemn Jones as well.

I look forward to reading Manny Waks' next article calling on Jones to be stood down. or must we wait until Jones calls on bikey gangs to attack "Jewish thugs" at Cronulla Railway Station?

Hilali is a bigoted, offensive, stupid fundamentalist ideologue who supports terrorists, but he’s an Australian citizen and entitled to the same rights and protections as other Australians, including other bigoted, offensive, stupid ideologues who supports terrorists. I’ve argued with a few of Irish decent who supported the IRA or UDA in my time, as well as fans of Mugabe (before his murderous nature became too obvious to ignore) and a pro-ETA Basque separatist.

However repulsive and offensive Hilali’s views, he’s entitled to air them. He’s subject to all the rights, responsibilities and privileges of Australian citizenship. Stripping people of citizenship when their views are not acceptable to the government is behaviour characteristic of the worst tyrannies and dictatorships.

That doesn’t mean, however, that the rest of us have no right to say exactly how offensive and repulsive he is, nor to offer opinions on how the Muslim community should deal with him. Christians, Jews, atheists and everyone else are entitled to comment on him and his behaviour, just as he is entitled to comment on us and ours.

However, the actual decision about whether Hilali should retain his position as Mufti rests with the community that appointed him. Their weak response has indeed been extremely disappointing. Their equivocation is read as tacit agreement with his views, especially by those who suspect that Hilali’s opinions are much more widespread in the Muslim community than they actually are. For as long as he is centre of attention - and he deserves to be, this is no media beat-up - the many voices of moderate Islam will be eclipsed.

For as long as this living caricature of smug fundamentalist intolerance is presented as the leading public face of Australian Islam, the cause of Multiculturalism in Australia will suffer.

Rhian, multiculturalism is not the solution to our problem, it is the problem. Hilali was originally imported by Keating to service a non-Western cultural minority cultivated by multiculturalism. We are now living with the consequences.

Personally, I wouldn't mind stripping both Hilali and Keating of their citizenship. Hilali back to his beloved Lebanon and Keating to his beloved Asia (although Asian nations usually base their immigration intake on ethnicity, he might be eligible for "honourary Asian" status).

Oligarch, Hilaly is Egyptian.

No he is a grub as are those who support him, that shock jock has in no way acted as bad as this fella.
Before the extremely regrettable riot assaults and shameful insults did take place every weekend on that beach, no less shameful than the riot.
No knives appear to have been used in the riot however use in the follow up shames those who used them
No saints on either side but this bloke is a danger to my country and his own people.
It may even be true that he has donated cash to terrorists a crime against this country.
It is time for moderate Muslims to get rid of both him and his blind supporters.
I am reminded in their support of this man of the truly held views of far more Australia's than some wish and ask is it wise to continue to import trouble?

Oligarch, you’ve chosen your name well. My preferred model of government is one where the authority of those in power is derived and legitimised from those they govern. My status as a citizen is not at the government’s disposal, though I may forfeit some of the rights of citizenship if I fail to fulfil its obligations – I could go to jail or be fined if I steal or fail to pay my taxes, for example.

People’s attitude to multiculturalism depends to an extent on how they define it. I’m a supporter of multiculturalism, which I see as comprising acceptance of the equal rights and responsibilities of people from different races, religions and birthplaces; celebration of cultural diversity and the benefits it brings; and tolerance of differences, including differences of opinion and faith. It need not preclude acceptance of a set of common core values (though we’ll find it hard to agree what those values are).

However, I’m not a great fan of political correctness or identify politics, both of which have tended to get tangled up with multiculturalism in recent years. So in my posts I have been quite rude about Hilali at the same time as I defended his right to say what he thinks