Australia's top Muslim cleric has offered to swap places with hostage Douglas Wood

I haven't seen this mentioned on this board so it may not be getting any press in the US and UK, but currently, Australia has someone being held hostage in Iraq with the demand of a troop widthdrawl.

He was to be killed if the deadline set wasn't met. That passed last week and he hasn't been heard from in a form the Australian government can or will confirm.

The twist is, Australia's top Muslim cleric has offered to swap places with hostage Douglas Wood and has gone to Iraq to personally talk out a release.

The Australian government has done nothing. They continue to say that his release must be unconditional and that they won't make deals with Terrorists.

This has caused problems from analysts because they say the government could actually be making things worse with comments calling these people 'Terrorists' when it hasn't been established who they work for and what their purpose is. Are they religeous extremists who can't be bargined with via money or are they Terrorists holding out for an easy ransom?

So the family of Woods has been running commercials on Iraqi TV and in their newspapers explaining that Woods has a heart condition and needs medical assistance and should be released etc etc. Next, they arranged for a 6 figure donation to any charity cause in Iraq for his exchange. This was communicated via The Mufti of Australia, Sheikh Taj Aldin Alhilali, who in other words is a high ranking Muslim leader world wide - he has major respect in Iraq because of his position.

He has now offered to exchange places with Woods for his release and is sure of his safety because of his religious leadership.

The Australian government isn't thrilled with this plan because they don't want to deal at all with the 'terrorists'.

That's where the story is at the moment but there's usually news every couple days....

Very interesting. Could you imagine this in America? The reaction? The press coverage? Would you think it would make a splash or be buried? It's quiet big news here at the moment, a dinner time news half hour top headline!

Mr Wood has heart and blood pressure problems, while the mufti put off having heart surgery in Australia to go to Iraq two weeks ago to try to secure Mr Wood's release.

The mufti left Baghdad last week after making brief contact with the kidnappers and speaking on the phone to a man he believed to be Mr Wood.

news.ninemsn.com.au...

What are your thoughts about this?




[edit on 26-5-2005 by TheShroudOfMemphis]

Wow - I can say that this is a great man to offer his life in such a manner. I wonder if the kidnappers would slice him if the American imperialist Empire doesn't pull out?


This is a good sign that maybe that 'silent' majority of Muslims from that peace loving religion will now start speaking out against things other than the regular Anti-Infidel rhetoric.

[edit on 26-5-2005 by edsinger]

Latest update on trying to free the Australian hostage in Iraq.
Now it's becoming hard because Australia are friends with America and America aren't treating Iraqi's with respect.

news.ninemsn.com.au...

Australia's close relationship with the United States was delaying the release of hostage Douglas Wood, a spokesman for Australian mufti Sheikh Taj Aldin Alhilali said.

He said Sheikh Alhilali was finding it difficult to negotiate with people who were jaded by the cruelty of the Americans.

"They're living in much worse conditions, the Americans aren't friendly people, they're giving them a lot of hard time," Mr Patel told the Nine Network.

"The mufti is finding it more and more difficult that on the one hand he is negotiating with people for the good of a person and representing Australia, and Australian soldiers have behaved very admirably, but the information he's giving is that the Americans aren't giving any respect to the grass roots Iraqis and therefore the negotiations have bogged down because he has pleaded that people should be treated with respect in Iraq and that is not happening.

"Unfortunately the Iraqi people are saying ... your work is made very difficult because Australia was a friend of the Americans and it's not helping the matter for Douglas Wood."

That man truly is a hero. Hopefully this can be shown as proof to the intolerant that their views on Muslims are false.

Though the update is kind of sad. Here he is trying to peacefully free this man and show compassion, while still having to deal with the grief left bad American soldiers.

Well finally someone on the peaceful side of the Muslim religion is speaking up and taking action. A very brave indeed, now I'm wondering if they would kill him or would they release him since he's a clerique and all?

Lets hope they both come home soon ...

i wonder what will the world react if they slace thim to peices

Originally posted by ulshadow
i wonder what will the world react if they slace thim to peices

they will just say it was by Allah's choice and that he was an apostate who sided with the westerners cause he was living in a part of the western world.

This is good news. Hopefully, it will show the side of Islam that the world seldom sees: sacrifice, selflessness, and charity and compassion. But I hope it doesn't come to that. it would be nice if these idiots stopped taking civilians hostage and murdering them. If they took actual military prisoners, i could understand, after all, its part of the occupational hazzards. But civilians arent prepared to nor have defense against such things, and these assholes who keep taking civilians hostage are showing they are no better then the US: preying on weak and helpless people because they are too chicken# to take on a real enemy.