Australian Muslims running scared after arrests

CANBERRA - Fears are growing of a violent backlash against Australia's large Muslim community in the wake of the arrests of 17 terror suspects in Sydney and Melbourne.

While politicians and most newspaper commentators said the arrests had vindicated new anti-terror laws, Muslim leaders backed away from their earlier support for the changes.

Australian Federation of Islamic Councils president Ameer Ali said the arrests had been made under existing laws with intense media scrutiny, but if the new legislation giving extraordinary powers of detention had been in force, the raids would have been made "in darkness".

The police swoops appear to have sparked alarm among Muslims who had already suffered attacks and abuse, with ABC radio reporting that mothers in Sydney had urged their sons to shave off their beards, avoid mosques and wear Western clothing.

Dr Ali said a gang of thugs had broken into a home in West Australia and assaulted a woman, later admitting to police they had attacked the house because its owners were Muslims.

"I want the Government to assure my community that they will not allow the rednecks in this country to exploit this situation and create disharmony in this society."

With headlines such as "Holy War in Australia" and "Osama's Aussie offspring" fanning anger, Prime Minister John Howard also appealed for calm and said the raids had not been directed at Muslims as a community.

He told Muslims, via Channel Seven, that "you are part of our community, we value you, we want you to fully participate in Australian life".

Police said the suspects had planned a jihad that would kill innocent people, and had obtained a huge amount of chemicals of the kind used in the London terror bombings. Police also alleged the men, all Australian citizens, had discussed suicide bombings.

Another Sydney house was raided yesterday but no arrests were made. In Melbourne, magistrate Reg Marron was told that police surveillance had picked up one of the accused, Abdulla Merhi, a 20-year-old begging to become a martyr to avenge the war in Iraq. His wife was expecting their first child.

Refusing bail, Mr Marron described the evidence as "extremely alarming" but noted that the prosecutions case appeared to be a "work in progress" and little evidence had been presented linking the cell to the eight men charged in Sydney.

At least seven of them are expected to appear in court tomorrow, and yesterday police expressed confidence that the evidence against both "cells" would be strengthened in the coming weeks.

The eighth Sydney suspect, named in the media as Omar Baladjam, was charged yesterday in a bedside court hearing at Sydney's Liverpool Hospital.

Baladjam, a 28-year-old former actor who had bit-parts on Australian TV shows such as Home and Away, has been under police guard amid high security at the hospital since he was shot by police on Tuesday morning.

Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said the Government would not back down on its intention to pass even tougher anti-terrorism laws that increase powers of arrest and detention, and which will cloak counter-terror operations in absolute secrecy.

- additional reporting Billy Adams