15 Dec 2014

Why is Australia being targeted by Islamist plotters?

The hostage taking in Sydney by a man bearing an Islamist flag is just the latest terror attack to threaten Australia. Propaganda by Islamic State is one of the factors being blamed by experts.


Two people were killed today after gunman Man Haron Monis took hostages in a Sydney cafe. He was also killed after being confronted by police.

Are home-grown extremists being inspired by Islamic State?

Professor Greg Barton, director of the Centre for Islam and the Modern World, told Channel 4 News: “There has been a number of so-called ‘ginger haired jihadis’, [one] appeared in videos where he romantically positions himself among the brothers and calls upon attacks against Australia.”

Barton said that he was not surprised that such an attack had taken place but, “the one thing that is surprising is the taking of hostages. We had been expecting something like Woolwich, somebody acting by themselves, perhaps using a car or a knife to attack, instead we are seeing a man keeping dozens of hostages.

“We’ve always been worried about soft targets. When those soft targets involve the taking of hostages it’s another level of complexity for authorities to respond to.”

It has been estimated that Australia has had more than 200 of its citizens leave to join militants in Syria/Iraq, making it the sixth largest provider of fighters in the world.

Australia’s attorney general has previously committed £8m to a programme aimed at countering extremism, which will seek to use early intervention in an attempt to counter radicalisation.

What is Australia’s role in Iraq/Syria?

Australia joined coalition airstrikes in October, and sought approval to deploy 200 special-forces members to Iraq.

Australian authorities claimed in November that a single set of airstrikes targeting a network of caves and bunkers in Iraq killed as many as 100 fighters aligned to I.S.

But the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott stopped short of stating that the hostage taking was linked to the nation’s role in the US led coalition.

“We don’t yet know the motivation of the perpetrator. We don’t know whether this is political, but obviously there are some indications this could be,” he said.

How are people radicalised in Australia?

Dr Tobias Feakin, director of the international Cyber Policy Centre at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, told Channel 4 News: “There have certainly been issues around radicalisation in Australia over the past 10 years and predominantly those who have been involved have been limited to certain family groupings and tight-knit friendship networks within certain parts of Australia, predominantly within Melbourne and Sydney.

“I mean there is certainly a feeling that due to the social media aspects of current propaganda messaging from Isis, it’s reaching a broader audience and individuals are becoming involved who might not have done 10 years ago. We can certainly see a step change in how that message is reaching a broader audience here in Australia.”

A report last year indicated that the consensus in Australia is that education would be the key to countering Islamic extremism, but that such an approach fails to account for “political alienation and socio-economic marginalisation [which] make young Muslims vulnerable to extremist ideas”.

Has this sort of thing happened in Australia before?

Australia has witnessed a number of plots and foiled plots in recent months.

In a video released by the Islamic State group in June, Australian citizens called for their countrymen to join IS.

In September an 18-year-old man was shot dead outside a police station in Melbourne after using a knife to attack two police officers. He was said to be carrying an Islamic State flag.

In the same month the country witnessed the largest anti-terror operation in its history, with Omarjan Azari arrested at his home in a Sydney suburb for allegedly planning a “terrifying” public terrorist attack.

Police claimed he had spoken on the phone to Mohammad Ali Baryalei, Australia’s most senior Islamic State recruit, and charged him with conspiring to plan or prepare a terrorist attack. Azari denies all the charges.

In October, US congressman Mike Rogers, who chairs the US House Intelligence Committee, said that Australian recruits to Islamic State who were ‘ready to go’ had been told by Islamic State militants to ‘stay in Australia. We want you to randomly kidnap people off the street, behead them, videotape it, send it to us for further propaganda.’