Jamal Rifi (born 16 June 1959) is a Lebanese-born Australian general practitioner and prominent figure in the Lebanese Muslim community in Sydney. He is known for winning The Australian newspaper’s Australian of the Year in January 2015.

Biography

Born in Lebanon, Rifi moved to Australia at the age of 24 to study medicine.[1] Rifi has been acknowledged for his work in trying to prevent the radicalisation of young Muslims in Sydney and has been praised for his community work;[2][3] however, he has also been criticised and received death threats, including from terrorist Mohamed Elomar, who once tweeted that he would give money to people who helped intimidate Rifi, whom he described as a "Habashi dog", and his family.[2][4][5]

He has strongly criticised the content some of the material sold in Islamic bookshops, saying that it is better to discuss these issues rather than banning books.[6]

In 2010, he was a national finalist as Australia's Local Hero for the Australian of the Year.[7] Subsequently in January 2015 he was chosen by The Australian newspaper as its alternate Australian of the Year.[8] When he was announced as the winner, he was praised by senior politician Scott Morrison who said that Rifi is a "great Australian".[8]

In October 2015, Rifi was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Canberra.[9]

In 2017, Rifi was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia.[10]

In 2021, Rifi was sentenced in absentia to 10 years imprisonment by the Lebanese military tribunal for "collaborating with Israel" through his work with Project Rozana, which helps provide medical training for Palestinian medical workers and helps organise the transfer of Palestinian patients to hospitals in Israel. Rifi blamed this on the "corrupt" Lebanese government, and more specifically, Hezbollah.[11][12]

He is the brother of Lebanese politician Ashraf Rifi.[13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ SBS News (23 August 2013). "What's in it for me? Doctor". Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  2. 1 2 d'Souza, Ges (9 March 2015). "Sydney GP Jamal Rifi's 'brave' stance against Islamic State and the radicalisation of young people". ABC News. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  3. ↑ Snow, Deborah; Olding, Rachel (27 January 2015). "Muslim leaders need 'keyboard warriors' to help fight Islamic State". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  4. ↑ Mark Schliebs; Gina Rushton (14 August 2014). "Home-grown killer threatens outspoken GP Jamal Rifi". The Australian. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  5. ↑ Van den Broeke, Leigh (28 August 2014). "Muslim leader Dr Jamal Rifi offers to pay Islamic radicals to leave nation". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  6. ↑ Fife-Yeomans, Janet; Benns, Matthew (17 November 2014). "Peddling pages of barbaric savagery: Islamic shops still selling female mutilation books". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "Dr Jamal Rifi". Australian of the Year. 2009. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  8. 1 2 Robinson, Natasha (24 January 2015). "Australian of the Year Jamal Rifi: 'Our shared values must unite us all'". The Australian. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  9. ↑ "University of Canberra Graduations October 2015". 30 September 2015.
  10. ↑ Ritchie, Emily (12 June 2017)."Queen's Birthday Honours 2017: Jamal Rifi AM wants to protect all families". The Australian. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  11. ↑ "Doctor working on Australia's COVID front line sentenced to jail in Lebanon". ABC News. 24 August 2021.
  12. ↑ "Lebanese-Australian Doctor Sentenced to Jail for "Collaborating w/ Israel" After Getting Medical Aid for Palestinians". 24 August 2021.
  13. ↑ "Lebanon gives doctor 10 years in absentia for working with Israel on medical aid". The Times of Israel.
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