LAKEMBA, Australia, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Radical Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir has called to raise an army of followers to implement Sharia law in Australia at a public event in a community center.

In a report by Yahoo!7 News, anti-terrorism police are said to be investigating the event that occurred Saturday in the city of Lakemba, on the outskirts of Sydney.


About 250 people attended the event. Group member Bilal Merhi said to the crowd that "Eventually, we will bounce back and we will reclaim everything that they have taken from us."

He said the Australian government must be replaced with an Islamic caliphate.

Hizb ut-Tahrir called the Charlie Hebdo massacre a "cure" and organized the public event to discuss the "West's desire to confront what it regards as the "Islamist threat."

"Be sure this matter has nothing to do with freedom, but everything to do with repressing the global efforts of Muslims to free themselves from the oppressive yolk of the West's colonial legacy," the group said.

Australian Attorney General George Brandis said "If people are engaged in the advocacy or encouragement of terrorism, they will be arrested, they will be prosecuted and they will be taken off our streets."