Was the West wrong about its assumption that innocence was innocence? Over 1,200 innocent civilians, many of whom were Israelis, were gunned down, raped, and massacred in Hamas October 7th attacks. Soon after the act of terrorism was seen by some as an act of liberation in the name of freedom. Cold-blooded terrorists have now become ‘courageous’ freedom fighters, defending the nobility of a greater cause for justice.
The West settled the debate around massacring, raping, and kidnapping innocent civilians long ago. However, there are groups in Australia who think otherwise, and those groups are getting away with it.
“It’s a day of courage, it’s a day of pride, it’s a day of victory… I’m happy” as the crowd chanted “allahu akbar”
These were the intrepid words of the charismatic Sheikh Ibrahim Dadoun following the October 7th Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel. The attacks seemed to have struck a nerve in the Muslim world, and the only thing more disturbing than the images of the terrorist attacks was to see pockets of Lakemba in south-west Sydney celebrating the attacks on Israel.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong offered nothing meaningful in her response to the incident other than to say that it was not acceptable. To add further insult to injury, the Sheikh knows that, despite encroaching on the limits of free speech, nothing will be done about his remarks. It’s more than just rhetoric. There are people in Australia who believe that the murder of innocent civilians, including women and babies, the rape of women, and the kidnapping of over 200 civilians are justified. Such attitudes could be dismissed, but rhetoric can turn into actions quickly.
The love story between Arab Muslims in Australia and Palestinians in Palestine continues, but it’s one we should be seriously concerned about. Australia is an ally of Israel. What do pro-Hamas supporters think of Australia? Australia is part of the West too. We were also involved militarily in the War on Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan and in the war against ISIS in Syria. Are the deaths of Australians serving here also to be celebrated? Any celebration of the deaths of innocent lives creates fertile grounds for the emergence of ideological training grounds of terrorism. Thoughts become beliefs, and beliefs translate to impulses. We ought to be alarmed when human slaughter is met with public ecstasy.
Lakemba has now become the new ideological breeding grounds of terrorism.
Long gone are the physical training grounds seen in the video footage of the last decade- showing young combatants of Al Qaeda and ISIS training somewhere in the desserts of the Middle East. Already, the swell of ‘Australians’ committing themselves to terrorism has steadily increased. Since 2015, around 200 Australians have travelled to Syria and Iraq to join terrorist groups like ISIS. If you live in the West and enjoy freedom, peace and security, you cannot serve two masters.
