Anti-Halal Campaigners in Australia apologized to renown Halal Certifier El-Mouehly

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(Sydney, NewsHalal-04 March 2017) Finally, after two years of allegations and defamation, the anti-Islam Q Society and the high-profile anti-halal campaigner Kirralie Smith in Australia have publicly apologized to a renown halal certifier Mohamed El-Mouelhy to settle a defamation action in the supreme court.

On Monday, the Q Society and Smith who founded the website Halal Choices – along with the director of the Halal Certification Authority, Mohamed El-Mouelhy, issued a joint statement saying the defamation action would be withdrawn. El-Mouelhy had sought to sue the Q Society and Smith over two YouTube videos she presented on halal certification in 2015.

El-Mouelhy alleged the videos, which starred Smith and named him and his position, cast him as “promoting a global push for Islamization calculated to destroy Australian values of freedom and tolerance” and as “an unethical or dishonest businessman who makes a profit out of cheating his customers and the public”.
Smith has risen to public prominence as the face of Australia’s “anti-halal movement”, appearing at public events and fronting videos posted on YouTube that rail against Islam and Muslims.
Smith also stood as a Senate candidate for the Australian Liberty Alliance at the last federal election. She attracted 3,113 votes.

The settlement statement signed by El-Mouelhy, Smith and Q Society board members Debbie Robinson, Peter Callaghan and Ralf Schumann, says: “Today the parties in these proceedings have settled their legal dispute and intend to move forward without engaging in further disputation. None of the parties, in expressing their views, had any intention to defame the other and each regrets that occurring”.

Mr El-Mouelhy has lived in Australia since 1975 and became an Australian citizen in 1981. He is a frequent and substantial contributor to Muslim and non-Muslim charities, including donations to specific projects for the protection of the poor and disadvantaged.

The Q Society, its board members and Kirralie Smith did not intend to suggest that the profits of Mr El-Mouelhy’s halal certification business were in any way improperly used. The Q Society, its board members and Kirralie Smith apologize to Mr El-Mouelhy for the hurt caused to him as a result of the publications, the subject of the proceedings.

“In light of the above apology Mr El-Mouelhy withdraws the comments he made about the Q Society, its board members and Kirralie Smith in response to their publications.”
Smith remains active online. She posted a video online four days ago saying “Islam is dangerous to women” and a religion that promoted “barbaric misogynistic behaviours”.
And the Q-Society’s website is still calling for donations to fund its defence against the El-Mouelhy defamation action.

Among Halal Certifiers around the world who keenly observed the case, the new of settlement regarded as a significant victory as Q Society and Kirralie Smith both apologized to El-Mouelhy.

Talking about legal struggle against anti-halal campaigners Q Society and Kirralie Smith, El-Mouelhy told NewsHalal that “This settlement showed these people were baseless and not true. I can say they did not defend themselves due to weakness of faith”.

In a message to other Halal Certifiers, El-Mouelhy emphasized that “Every Muslim should examine his heart, does money means so much to him that he is unable to spend it defending Islam and its principles? Their are many ways to spend one’s money, the best way is to spend it in the way of Allah, He will compensate that person a hundred fold. I can actually testify that He has compensated me many many fold for every cent I spent defending my faith”.