Australian PM Wants Muslim Leaders to Be More Aggressive in Preventing Terrorism
- By Elisa Meyer --
- 25 Nov 2018 --
He wants Labor to pass a bill to bypass technological encryption.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia wants his country's Muslim community to be "proactive" when it comes to tackling terror attacks.[/tweetit] The reasoning of the PM is that in multiple cases, Muslim community leaders and imams have knowledge of who has infiltrated and is radicalizing vulnerable community members. According to Morrison the only way forward to stop such attacks is community engagement. He made his statements in the backdrop of Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, an Australian citizen of Somali origin killing one fellow Australian and injuring others on Melbourne's Bourke Street.
Australian PM Wants Muslim Leaders to Be More Aggressive in Preventing Terrorism[/tweetthis]
The PM claimed in a series of interviews the Bourke Street attack happened only due to the presence of Islamic extremism in Australia. He described radical Islam as a “vile presence.” Morrison dismissed suggestions which stated mental health problems of the perpetrator to be the issue, describing this explanation as a “lame excuse.” He doubled down on his previous requests to Muslim leaders to be more vigilant, saying it will not be possible for the police and other security agencies to monitor every person and it is thus the responsibility of the communities to spot those “infiltrators” engaged in spreading extremism.
When Morrison was questioned as to why Ali was not considered a threat even when the Australian Government canceled his passport in 2015 due to his stated wish to fight for Islamic State, the PM said there were 400 more important ASIO investigations, and not all people who were once investigated could be subjected to round the clock observation. He said approximately 230 individuals were not allowed to enjoy a valid passport.
Scott Morrison’s fearmongering and constant ridiculing of the Muslim community, is destroying connections that intelligence agencies have spent a long time building with Muslim communities. Bunch of incompetent idiots! #vicvotes #auspol
— ?MsRose? (@msrose2343) November 13, 2018
When the Australian Prime Minister was asked if his country’s people would now be forced to live with this new normal, he replied saying the only option possible to thwart these kind of terror attacks is community bonding. Morrison also encouraged Muslim communities all over Australia to raise their alertness and awareness level. He pointed out that Muslims should be more concerned as it is their community which is being infiltrated and these activities present a potential risk to the safety of all Australians and also of their own children.
Peter Dutton, the Minister of Home Affairs, has tied the attack to the re-evaluation of the government on the many pathways to the citizenship of the country. He asked Labor to give their consent to a bill which will permit law enforcement agencies to get past technological encryption.