When it comes to the major risk we all face with Islamic radicalism, two people we should be listening to are UAE-based strategic and political affairs analyst Amjad Taha and our own head of security, Mike Burgess.
Amjad Taha, who is a devoted Muslim, told Sky News host Peta Credlin he did not hold out hope the West would be able to “deal with the grip of radical Islam”.
He said Islamist organisations – who believe Islam should guide all aspect of personal and public life – aimed to spread their ideology around the world.
He said groups, many affiliated with transnational Sunni Islamist organisation Muslim Brotherhood, had seen success in recruiting members following October 7 2023 and Israel’s ensuing war against terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah.
“It gave them enough place to recruit people … they have enough Imams and enough recruitments, the next step is action,” he warned.
“More terrorist attacks are coming to Australia, more coming to United Kingdom, there will be terrorist attacks.
“You will go back into this interview that we’re having to remind people: We did warn about this. It’s not because we’re very smart and clever about this; it’s because the Middle East understands these terrorists.”
The Muslim Brotherhood combines religious advocacy, social welfare activities and political activism, and has become one of the most influential Islamist organisations in the modern Middle East.
The group’s stated objective is to promote Islamic values in society and government, although its branches and affiliated organisations vary significantly between countries. They include affiliations with Hamas and Egyptian Islamic Jihad groups.
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Jordan have designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation and banned them – and Australia should be doing the same.
Mr Taha said the “Muslim Brotherhood… do not tolerate you and treat your country like your home. The future is really dark if you’re going to allow the Muslim Brotherhood, to be the elites of your society,” he said.
Meanwhile, al-Qa’ida has called for followers “behind enemy lines” in western democracies to commit “lone wolf” attacks just like the Bondi massacre in December.
It comes as ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess said the nation faced a more volatile security environment than previously expected.
“Grievance continues, social cohesion is strained and the likelihood of violence has increased,” he said.
“Social media is amplifying and accelerating grievance narratives, eroding trust in institutions, promoting discord and inflammatory rhetoric, exacerbating polarisation and creating a permissive environment for violence.
“Whether online or in the real world, when intolerance is tolerated, when violent language and violent acts are left unchecked, they become normalised, reinforcing the impression they are acceptable and compounding the likelihood of further violence.
“At the same time, global terrorism threats are re-emerging. Traditional groups such as Islamic State and al-Qa’ida and their affiliates are growing their capability to conduct and inspire attacks.
“These groups continue to see Western interests as legitimate targets.
“An Iran-aligned group orchestrated a wave of attacks across Europe earlier this year. Most targeted Jewish interests; and all were designed to fuel fear as part of Iran’s anti-American, anti-Israel, anti-Semitic agenda.
“Iran continues to view Australia as a legitimate target for covertly directed acts of violence. We assess they will conduct or inspire acts of arson, vandalism or even assassinations on Australian soil,” he warned
Despite earlier similar warnings from Middle East experts, our Department of Home Affairs went ahead and announced that the Albanese government would offer temporary visas to Palestinians who were impacted by the Israel-Hamas war.
Since then, Australia has taken in at least 3,000 people from Gaza with very little security checking. Our Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke then personally welcomed some of them at Sydney International Airport (see above).
Despite the ceasefire in Gaza, none of these so-called ‘refugees’ has been returned.
Peta Credlin questioned Mr Taha on whether Australians should be concerned about a lenient security process for Palestinian refugees.
“The security check is very essential and important because they come from an area that is quite radicalised,” he said.
“You’re either under the Islamic Jihad, which is a proxy of Iran and Gaza, or you’re under Hamas. Both are anti-Semitic, anti-Jew, anti-Christian, and they’ve been quite radicalised at an early age.”
Mr Taha has previously spoken out about the threat of extremism in the West, claiming the United Kingdom is home to more Islamic extremists than the Middle East!
He said the educational curriculum in Gaza/West Bank teaches “hate and killing”.
“These people, when they come to your country, they’re a tool away from carrying out crime against any of your children, any of your people or any of your markets,” he said.
“All Muslim countries do security checks on everybody. Would you allow a stranger to come into your house, and sit with your babies? No. It’s your right to protect your children and not to bring any criminal into your home.”
Mr Taha also declared the Sydney Opera House protest in the days following the October 7 2023 attacks was “shameful”
“They escape all the way from the Middle East where the Islamists were persecuting their country. Australia provided them with the right to live together with benefits and citizenship, and in response, you celebrate the new Holocaust,” he said.
“The 7th of October was a test to humanity, and just like the Holocaust, people denied it, people celebrated it, and there were some people who participated in it.
“They were celebrating Hamas murdering and kidnapping babies.”
It’s way past time the Albanese government acted on the warnings provided by experts who know what is really happening in relation to Islamic radicalism.
All 3,000 Gazans should be returned to their homes in Gaza; Islamist hate preachers should be deported or face criminal charges under existing or new laws; and Burqas and other full-face coverings should be banned in public places, as they are already in 24 countries including France, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Italy and Denmark.
Go to Sky News.com.au for Peta Credlin’s interview with Amjad Taha.
Thanks to Max Aldred at Sky News together with David Gray/Getty Images and Alliance Magazine for the images and Johannes Leak for his cartoon.
