AUSTRALIA IS SLEEPWALKING TOWARDS A SURGE IN ISLAMIC EXTREMISM 🤔
Australia is sleepwalking towards a surge in Islamic extremism, a prominent Muslim political analyst has warned, urging the nation to “wake up” before it is too late.
Middle East strategic affairs expert Amjad Taha also said Australia must “stop tolerating people who do not tolerate you” and crack down on extremist networks instead of “giving them what they want”.
In an interview with Sky News Australia host Peta Credlin on Thursday, Mr Taha argued Western democracies, including Australia, had been far too complacent in allowing organisations linked to the Muslim Brotherhood movement to prosper.
“Too many Western democracies have allowed this movement to have influence through charities, universities, schools and community organisations,” he said.
Mr Taha said countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain had recognised the threat years ago, while Australia and other Western nations had been slow to act.
He also argued accusations of Islamophobia had too often been weaponised to silence debate about Islamist extremism, insisting governments must draw a clear distinction between the overwhelming majority of peaceful Muslims and those promoting extremist ideologies.
Mr Taha said Australian authorities knew extremist literature was easily accessed in some mosques and the “warning signs” of radicalisation “should not be ignored”.
He warned that unless governments moved decisively, Australia risked more terrorist attacks like the massacre at Bondi Beach on December 14 last year.
“Australia is a great civilisation worth protecting,” he added.
Mr Taha’s warning comes as Australia’s spy chief defended the nation’s broader counter-terrorism strategy, insisting the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) could not afford to focus on just one ideological threat.
In his annual threat assessment, ASIO director-general Mike Burgess said Australia’s security agencies must continue to combat terrorism alongside espionage, foreign interference, sabotage of critical infrastructure and hostile state activity.
Responding to calls for a stronger focus on Islamist extremism following the Bondi terror attack, Mr Burgess said ASIO could not “simplistically pivot from single threat to single threat”.
He noted ASIO had disrupted 31 major terrorist plots since 2014.
Mr Taha ended his interview with an emotional plea to Australians.
“Protect your civilisation. This is a huge warning,” he said.
“My hand is on my heart when I speak about Australia.”
“I have visited Australia, and I saw the recent attacks against the Jewish community.
“This is not what Australia is about.”
“You are so diverse, but today ask yourself this: in some parts of Sydney, an Orthodox Jew cannot openly show his identity.”
“That is not right and it cannot simply be accepted.”