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Lateline host’s Hizb ut-Tahrir interview ‘regrets’

Lateline host Emma Alberici has weighed in on her heated interview with Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesperson Wassim Doureihi, telling The Age it was her most frustrating to date.

The seasoned presenter clashed with Mr Doureihi, who refused to directly answer any questions, including whether or not his Islamic political organisation supported the tactics of Islamic State fighters.

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Alberici lamented that she did not ask Mr Doureihi whether or not, as a woman, she would have been able to interview him in an exclusively-Muslim Australian society, one of Hizb ut-Tahrir’s key objectives.

“In his caliphate, in his ideal Islamic state would I, as a woman, have the opportunity to sit opposite him as an equal and engage in a robust discussion about these issues on the public broadcaster? I don’t think he would have answered,” Alberici said to Fairfax.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott praised Alberici’s dogged interview efforts on Thursday morning, saying she “spoke for our country”.

The group came under fire this week over a planned lecture admonishing the US-led military effort in the Middle East, with Mr Abbott calling the group “preachers of hate”.

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