The Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) was formed in 2006 during a meeting of more than 80 Sunni
imam
Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, serve ...
Al-Ahbash
Al-Ahbash ( ar, الأحباش, , en, "The Ethiopians"), also known as the Association of Islamic Charitable Projects ( ar, جمعية المشاريع الخيرية الإسلامية, , AICP) is a neo-traditionalist Sufi religious movem ...
and because of its promotion of "sectarian fringe views".
The Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) is the peak Muslim body that represents imams and Muslims in Australia, with over 200 member imams from all states and territories and major Australian cities.
The ANIC elects the Grand Mufti of Australia. The current Grand Mufti is Dr.
Ibrahim Abu Mohamed
Ibrahim Abu Mohamed (alternative spelling, Ibrahim Abu Mohammed) is an Egyptian-born and educated Sunni Islamic scholar and Grand Mufti of Australia from September 2011 to March 2018. He became Grand Mufti again after Afifi's death.
Personal ...
.
In 2014, the ANIC expressed concerns regarding a bill in the Australian parliament that would broaden the offence of advocating terrorism. ANIC argued that the legislation would have
chilling effect
In a legal context, a chilling effect is the inhibition or discouragement of the legitimate exercise of natural and legal rights by the threat of legal sanction. A chilling effect may be caused by legal actions such as the passing of a law, the ...
s on
free speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...
. It also said that any religious community referring to violent passages in the
Qur'an
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...
or
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...
could face sanction under this law. Other Australian Muslim groups, including the
Islamic Council of Victoria
The Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV) an Australian Muslim organisation acting as the central representative body for the Muslim community and local Islamic organisations in Victoria, Australia.Muslim Legal Network, also expressed concerns regarding the legislation.
In February 2015 the Grand Mufti said the Australian Government should not ban
Hizb ut-Tahrir
Hizb ut-Tahrir (Arabicحزب التحرير (Translation: Party of Liberation) is an international, political organization which describes its ideology as Islam, and its aim the re-establishment of the Islamic Khilafah (Caliphate) to resume Isl ...
, saying the group is "actually pro-freedom of speech". The
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
responded by saying the comments were "unhelpful".
In 2016, Sheikh
Shady Alsuleiman
Shady Alsuleiman (born 1978 in Sydney, Australia) is a Muslim imam and the president of the Australian National Imams Council and the United Muslims of Australia. He is from a Palestinian family who migrated to Australia in the late 1960s. He in ...
was elected president of ANIC. and then re-elected for a second term in 2019.
ANIC executive committee consists of 20 imams elected from different states.
Islam in Australia
Islam in Australia is a minority religious affiliation. According to the 2021 Census in Australia, the combined number of people who self-identified as Muslims in Australia, from all forms of Islam, constituted 813,392 people, or 3.2% of th ...
Islamic schools and branches
Islamic schools and branches have different understandings of Islam. There are many different sects or denominations, schools of Islamic jurisprudence, and schools of Islamic theology, or '' ʿaqīdah'' (creed). Within Islamic groups themselves ...