A preacher who was previously found to have violated racial discrimination laws with antisemitic sermons has criticised Australia for prosecuting returned ISIS brides.

Four women previously linked to ISIS fighters landed in Australia from Syria on Thursday, May 7, alongside nine children.

Three of the four women were charged soon after landing. They had spent the last seven years in al-Roj, a refugee camp in north-eastern Syria.

Janai Safar landed in Sydney and was driven to Mascot Police Station where she was charged with entering or remaining in declared areas, and being a member of a terrorist organisation. Each offence carries a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment.

In Melbourne, Kawsar Abbas has been charged with enslavement, using a slave and engaging in slave trading. Her daughter Zeinab Ahmed will be charged with enslavement and using a slave.

Islamic preacher Wissam Haddad, also known as Abu Ousayd, on Monday shared pictures of the three arrested women alongside a photo of Israeli President Isaac Herzog and NSW Premier Chris Minns.

The photo showed Minns holding an umbrella over Herzog during his visit to Sydney in February following the Bondi Beach mass shooting, which targeted a Jewish event.

Haddad then spoke of alleged war crimes committed by Israel against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. ‘Depending on who you are, ‘crime against humanity’ will either get you umbrella treatment or jail treatment,’ Haddad wrote online.

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Islamic preacher Wissam Haddad (above) called out the ‘double standard’ in Australia welcoming Israeli President Isaac Herzog and arresting returning ISIS brides

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Haddad shared a photo of Israeli President Isaac Herzog and NSW Premier Chris Minns sharing an umbrella (above) in February

‘Isaac Herzog, has been publicly accused by some legal groups, human rights advocates and UN-linked investigators of involvement in or incitement related to alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide connected to the Gaza war.

‘But of course, the ‘law’ is only ever applied against the weak, and who better to apply it to than women who have spent years in a prison camp, and of course the bonus is that they are Muslim!

‘Double standards again.’

While that comment was comparatively measured, Haddad in April become the subject of an AFP investigation following reports he had been spreading hate towards Jews and Christians in his sermons.

A 30-minute video of the sermon in question was removed from YouTube under its Hate Speech guidelines.

Previously, the Federal Court found in July 2025 found Haddad had breached the Racial Discrimination Act.

Several of his sermons were ordered to be pulled from social media and Haddad was warned from sharing similar content again.

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Three of the four women, formerly linked to ISIS, who arrived in Australia from Syria on Thursday were arrested (pictured left to right: Kawsar Abbas, Zeinab Ahmed and Janai Safar)

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Only one of the women (pictured, Zahra Ahmad) were allowed to walk free on Australian soil

The three arrests on Thursday have also drawn criticism from Kurdish authorities who oversee the Syrian refugee camp.

Al-Roj security administrator Jafri Afrin told The Australian on Monday the seven remaining Australian women and their 11 children are now scared to return.

The remaining women, believed to be more radical than those who landed in Australia last week, thought all Australian refugees would be flown home together – not in separate groups.

However, the four women and their children flew to Australia without making contact with those still in the camp.

Kurdish authorities had deemed at least two of the Australian women to be extremists ‘based on their behaviour, interaction with residents, conversations, clothing, veils, and limited social interaction’.

One of those ‘extremist’ women arrived in Australia last week. The other is living in a separate section of the camp, away from the other Australians.

Kawsar Abbas’ remaining relatives in the camp are particularly fearful of being arrested on enslavement charges on arrival in Australia.

‘Probably they will face the same (charges) because this family were together with them (the Abbases) in Syria,’ Ms Afrin said.

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Kurdish authorities claimed the arrests had scared the remaining Australian women in al-Roj

Camp director Hakmiyeh Ibrahim said the Australians still in al-Roj would likely start campaigning to find ‘what opportunities remain for them to return to Australia, and whether this process could be delayed’.

‘As the (Kurdish) Autonomous Administration and camp administration, we have no objection to any country coming to take back its families,’ she said.

‘All the Australian families in al-Roj camp, all the women and children, have passports and we have copies and passport numbers for all of them.’