‘Australian’ Islamist Video Deplored

Australian doctor Tareq Kamleh.

THE AUSTRALIAN: Security agencies will reassess their monitoring efforts amid growing outrage over an Australian doctor joining Islamic State.

Registered Adelaide doctor Tareq Khamleh has appeared in an Islamic State propaganda video calling for Muslim health professionals in the West to join him in the extremist group’s stronghold in Raqqa in Syria.

The 29-year-old flew to Kuala Lumpur on March 10, before appearing on the video on the weekend wearing scrubs and working in a neonatal unit describing his work as “part of my Jihad”.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton says Mr Khamleh is the first known Australian medical professional to join the extremist organisation.

It proved Islamic State isn’t just recruiting fighters, and security agencies will be alert to the new threat, he said.

The acting attorney-general and foreign affairs minister said it was disturbing development that a highly-educated person had succumbed to “the death cult’s evil message”.

“For an Australian doctor to go, to sign up with this group of bandits, people who are murdering, raping, killing people in the Middle East, in the name of ISIL is just something that our country can’t tolerate,” he said.

Mr Dutton urged Australians to report family and friends if they had concerns they were considering joining the extremist group. There is a maximum 25 year jail term for anyone found to be aiding the group. » | AAP | Sunday, April 26, 2015

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Australian Doctor Appears In Islamic State Propaganda Video

NEWS.COM.AU: Perth doctor joins ISIS medical team in ‘jihad for Islam’ against the west: A PERTH doctor has appeared in an Islamic State propaganda video urging medicos to join his jihad. » | Saturday, April 25, 2015

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Islamic State Recruiter Neil Prakash Calls for Attacks in Australia in Propaganda Video

THE AGE: Australia's most senior Islamic State recruiter in Syria has urged young Muslim men to "rise up" and launch attacks on home soil in a new alarming propaganda video.

Neil Prakash, who goes by the jihadist name Abu Khaled al-Cambodi, is understood to have fled to Syria from Melbourne in early 2013. Mr Prakash is of Fijian and Cambodian descent, a fact reflected in his nom de guerre.

In the 12-minute video, Mr Prakash issues a call to arms to his "beloved brothers in Australia".

"I also send a message to my brothers, my beloved brothers in Islam in Australia," he says.

"Now is the time to rise, now is the time to wake up … You must start attacking before they attack you."

The video has emerged online only days after five Melbourne teenagers were arrested in pre-dawn raids over an alleged Anzac Day terror plot. Three teenagers have been charged, two with terrorism-related offences.

Mr Prakash encourages his "brothers at home" to reprise attacks on their "sisters". » | Marissa Calligeros | Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Australian Teens Held Over Alleged Terror Attack

BBC AMERICA: Police in Australia say they have foiled an Islamic State-inspired plot to carry out an attack at a World War One centenary event.

Police arrested five suspects, including two 18-year-olds being held for alleged terrorism-related offences.

They said the men were planning to target police at an Anzac memorial event in Melbourne next week.

Some 200 police officers took part in the counter-terrorism operation in the city early on Saturday.

Acting deputy police commissioner Neil Gaughan told reporters that evidence gathered by police led them to believe the suspects had been influenced by Islamic State. » | Saturday, April 18, 2015

Reclaim Australia Rally Organiser Plans Next Move

Read the Fraser Coast Chronicle article here | Carlie Walker | Tuesday, April 07, 2015

Reclaim Australia and No Room for Racism Rallies Clash Across Australia

NEWS.COM.AU: VIOLENCE erupted at protests across Australia as anti-Islamisation and anti-racism groups clashed at rival rallies.

Around the country Reclaim Australia protesters held rallies to oppose “sharia law, halal tax and Islamisation”, where they waved Australian flags and carried signs saying “Yes Australia. No Sharia”.

More than 3000 people clashed in Federation Square and blocked surrounding streets in the Melbourne CBD as it became a battleground of competing ideologies, with a rally by the Reclaim Australia movement and counter-protest by the left-wing No Room for Racism group.

Hundreds of police formed barricades to separate protesters but scuffles still broke out and paramedics had to treat assault victims for minor injuries.

Victoria Police arrested two men and one woman, with all three released pending summons.

Tempers flared as a Reclaim Australia supporter scuffled with a Guy Fawkes mask-wearing socialist protester.

More than 100 officers put up a line of bodies to separate the two groups. (+ videos) » | Sunday, April 05, 2015

Reclaim Australia Marchers Rally against Islam

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: Police were out in force in West Perth on Saturday morning keeping apart rival rallies.

Anti-Islam protesters gathered outside Colin Barnett's offices on Harvest Terrace to take part in the national Reclaim Australia series of rallies.

A short distance away in Solidarity Square, close to Parliament House, a group of anti-racist protesters gathered to demonstrate against Reclaim Australia.

Between them, in a deserted car park, was a line of mounted police and other officers on foot, some with dogs, to make sure the two groups did not clash.

The Reclaim Australia rally was much bigger than the anti-racist gathering, with many of those on the hill outside the Department of Premier and Cabinet draped in the Australian flag.

Several speakers said they had gathered to protest against Sharia law, halal certification and Islamisation. (+ video) » | with AAP | Sunday, April 05, 2015

So This Is Easter: Melbourne Faces Off at Anti-Islam Rally as Police on Horseback Hold Factions Apart

THE AGE: Hundreds of people washed spit from their faces on Saturday evening after an ugly stand-off at Federation Square between supporters of Reclaim Australia, an anti-Islamic movement, and No Room For Racism, a coalition of trade union, community and left-wing groups.

It's been reported that these were competing rallies. Those reports are wrong. What occurred at Federation Square was trench warfare — with police on horseback holding the armies apart.

Because the police had been quick to isolate the core Reclaimer group on the forecourt of the SBS building, hundreds of late-comers were left to mingle with the No Roomers. Mingling often meant one-on-one screaming matches that occasionally broke out into pushing and shoving. Now and then a stray punch or two was thrown.

A Federation Square spokesman estimated 3000 thousand people — many carrying many placards, some of them droll: "You keep your Burqua, I'll keep my clitoris" — went at it noisily for more than three hours. » | John Elder | Saturday, April 04, 2015

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Anti-Islam and Anti-Racism Protesters Clash Around Australia

ABC NEWS: Thousands of anti-Islam and anti-racism protesters clashed in angry rallies around Australia on Saturday.

The most violent clash was in Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city, where police struggled to separate 3,000 opposing demonstrators. The Victoria state ambulance service treated four people, three for minor injuries from assaults in Melbourne, Ambulance Victoria spokesman Paul Bentley said. The fourth was treated for chest pains. None of the injured was taken to a hospital, he said.

Police arrested two men and a woman in the fracas in Melbourne's downtown Federation Square, Victoria Police spokeswoman Belinda Batty said.

Batty said the three were later released. She said all would be charged, but she could not detail those charges.

Reclaim Australia, a community group, organized rallies in 16 cities and towns around Australia against Islamic extremism, the "Islamization" of Australian society, Islamic Sharia law and the Halal-certification of most meats sold in Australia. » | AP | Melbourne, Australia | Saturday, April 04, 2015

Pauline Hanson Tells Queensland Rally against Islam She's Not Racist

Pauline Hanson: "We have people here today who stand against racism."

BRISBANE TIMES: One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has declared she is not a racist during a rally against Islam in Brisbane.

Ms Hanson, who narrowly lost her fight for a seat in the 2015 Queensland election, joined hundreds of protesters in King George Square.

Many were draped in the Australian flag and carried signs denouncing sharia law and halal certification for Australian products.

The group Reclaim Australia is holding nationwide rallies against "sharia law, halal tax and Islamisation".

But the rally was not an exercise in racism, Ms Hanson said.

"We have people here today who stand against racism. Thank you for your support," she said.

"So do I." » | AAP | Saturday, April 04, 2015

Australia a Puzzling Hotbed of Islamic State Recruiting

SALON: CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A nightclub bouncer who reportedly became a terror group leader. A man who tweeted a photo of his young son clutching a severed head. A teenager who is believed to have turned suicide bomber, and others suspected of attempting to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State movement. All of them, Australian.

The London-based International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence reports that between 100 and 250 Australians have joined Sunni militants in Iraq and Syria. Given Australia’s vast distance from the region and its population of just 24 million, it is a remarkable number. The center estimates that about 100 fighters came from the United States, which has more than 13 times as many people as Australia.

Experts disagree about why Islamic State has been so effective recruiting in Australia, which is widely regarded as a multicultural success story, with an economy in an enviable 24th year of continuous growth.

Possible explanations include that some Australian Muslims are poorly integrated with the rest of the country, and that Islamic State recruiters have given Australia particular attention. In addition, the Australian government failed to keep tabs on some citizens who had been radicalized, and moderate Muslims have been put off by some of Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s comments about their community.

Greg Barton, a global terrorism expert at Monash University in Melbourne, said Australia and some other countries underestimated Islamic State’s “pull factor.”

“We’re all coming to terms with the fact that this is a formidable targeter and predatory recruiter that goes after individuals one by one with a very masterful use of technology, and our sense of confidence that because we’ve got society working well makes us secure misses the point,” Barton said. » | Rod McGuirk, Associated Press | Sunday, March 22, 2015

New Dark Age Alert! The Hon Tony Abbott MP, Prime Minister of Australia: National Security Statement 2015

Please note the Prime Minister of Australia’s reference to a “New Dark Age”! People are slowly coming round to the reality that the “New Dark Age” of which I wrote many years ago has indeed already DAWNED.

Eat your heart out, Mr. Obama! In your refusal to refer to ‘radical Islam’, you are fast becoming an IRRELEVANCE! – Mark

I refer you to my book, The Dawning of a New Dark Age, which was first published in 2003!

JIHAD WATCH: Australia: Muslims outraged at PM’s “aggressive rhetoric against Muslims” » | Robert Spencer | Thursday, February 26, 2015

Boycott Halal Movement in Australia Set to Escalate

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: The virulent Boycott Halal movement in Australia is set to escalate with a petition to federal parliament in the New Year demanding the Corporations Act 2001 be changed to mean only Muslims bear the cost of halal certification on everyday products.

Halal products are those deemed permissible for Muslims to eat or use under religious law. Many mainstream products in Australian stores are halal certified including food from SPC, Nestle, Kelloggs and Kraft. Supermarket chains pay for certification for some products, as do dairy factories and meat processors. » | Chris Johnston | Saturday, December 27, 2014

Sectarian Tensions Running High, Say Australian Muslim Leaders

CNN: (CNN) -- Muslim community leaders in Australia say sectarian tensions are soaring, as radicalized Sunni youth, inspired by ISIS, seek to import the religious conflicts wracking the Middle East.

"The tensions are very high and will continue to be high," said Jamal Daoud, a Shia community leader in Sydney, where a 47-year old Shia leader was shot in the shoulder early Monday morning, as worshipers observed the Shia ritual of Ashura.

He said Rasoul Al Mousawi, a leader in the Shia community focused around the Islamic center in Greenacre, south-west Sydney, had been released from hospital on Tuesday and was doing well.

The attack was only one incident in a string of attacks and threats against Shia Muslims by Sunni extremists who sympathized with ISIS, he claimed, and had followed an incident where a group of men had driven past the Islamic center, yelling comments such as "IS lives forever" and "Shia dogs" in Arabic.

A security guard had also been attacked by a group of men who appeared to be followers of the austere Wahhabi tradition of Sunni Islam on Friday, he said.

"There's high tension between Sunni and Shia, but these extremists, they threaten and attack Sunnis too," he said.

"Anyone who speaks against the fighting in Syria and advocating the government to take action against people in Iraq and Syria -- they are threatened and attacked."

Jamal Rifi, a Sydney-based GP and Sunni community leader, agreed, saying sectarian tensions were at an unprecedented level as a result of the brutal Syrian conflict, and the appeal of ISIS to radicalized Sunni youth in Australia. » | Tim Hume, CNN | Thursday, November 06, 2014

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Australia: Shooting Sparks Fear of Muslim Sectarian Violence

THE AUSTRALIAN: FEARS of Muslim sectarian violence spilling into the suburbs of Australia are rising after the shooting early yesterday of a man outside a Sydney prayer centre.

The attack, on a 47-year-old ­father of five at a Shia establishment, happened in front of his family on one of the holiest days of the Shia Muslim calendar.

The man, identified as Rasoul Al-Musawi, was standing outside the prayer hall in Greenacre, in Sydney’s southwest about 1.15am when he was struck in the face and shoulder with pellets. He was expected to undergo surgery. His injuries are not considered life-threatening. » | Anthony Klan | Journalist | Sydney | Tuesday, November 04, 2014

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Shia Muslims Chanting ‘Down with Isis’ Join Ashura Procession in Sydney

THE GUARDIAN: March participants play down prospect of sectarian tensions a day after a Muslim leader was shot outside a Sydney Islamic centre

Thousands of Shia Muslims marched through the Sydney’s CBD on Tuesday to mark Ashura, the anniversary of the death of the prophet Muhammad’s grandson Husayn Ibn Ali.

The black-clad procession numbered more than 2,000 and stretched almost a kilometre, led by women in chadors and green headbands chanting, “down with Isis” and “Husayn is for peace”.

At the lead was a large sign linking Husayn’s death at the battle of Karbala in AD680 at the hands of the caliph Yazid to the death of Jesus and new threats from religious extremists in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Oppressors attacked Jesus Christ to crucify him, but he was victorious. After centuries, similar people attacked Imam Husayn to demolish truth and justice, but he was victorious,” the sign read.

“Today, terrorists have risen again. Who will be victorious over them?” » | Michael Safi | Tuesday, November 04, 2014

Australia: Mosque Open Day to Challenge Misconceptions of Islam

BBC: There has been a reported increase in attacks on Muslims in Australia following the rise of the militant group Islamic State.

On Saturday, Muslims from mosques across Australia aimed to change misconceptions of Islam by holding an open day.

Phil Mercer reports. Watch BBC video » | Monday, October 27, 2014

Australian Muslim: 'A Tirade of Anti-Muslim Abuse and Threats'

BBC: There has been a reported increase in attacks on Muslims in Australia following the rise of the militant group Islamic State.

Arif Hussain Khan is a Muslim youth worker in Wollongong, south of Sydney.

He says he was savagely abused by a middle-aged woman in an anti-Muslim attack. Watch BBC video » | Monday, October 27, 2014

Threat to Diggers*

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: Australia's most notorious jihadists fighting in Iraq have issued a macabre threat to Australian soldiers as their ranks were bolstered by a Melbourne-born preacher who has joined their new "caliphate".

Underscoring the deep concern the Abbott government has expressed in recent weeks about Australians involved with extremist groups, two prominent jihadists fighting with the al-Qaeda splinter group the Islamic State took to Twitter to issue fresh threats.

Mohamed Elomar, a former boxer from Sydney who has been implicated in executions of unarmed Iraqis, posted on the social media site a distressing picture of what appears to be a captured Iraqi soldier who has been beaten and is about to be executed.

The accompanying message states: "Look at the end of these Iraqi maliki dogs bunch of girls can't wait to see a Australian soldier cyring (sic) saying bakia."

"Bakia" means "he cries" in Arabic and "maliki" refers to the Shiite-led Iraqi government of Nouri al-Maliki, the fervent enemy of the Sunni extremists who have swept through northern Iraq in recent weeks. » | David Wroe | National Security Correspondent | Friday, July 05, 2014

* Digger is a military slang term for soldiers from Australia and New Zealand. [Source: Wikipedia]

Why Does Islam Get Special Treatment in Australia? - "A Cruel Culture"

Cory Bernardi defends Australian values from what he sees as a creeping Islamification, aided and enabled by some Australian politicians.