The idea of “religiously motivated terrorism” should be eliminated from Australia’s terrorism laws, according to a coalition of leading Islamic organizations.
This comes after counterterrorism raids in Sydney on Wednesday resulted in the charging of a sixth adolescent, who is fifteen years old.
Five youths, ages 14 to 17, are in court now after being previously charged with many offenses.
“Avoid simplistic attributions that target specific communities” was the statement issued by the Australian Muslim Advocacy Network, the Alliance of Australian Muslims, and the Australian National Imams Council.
Political ideology, not religion, is the driving force behind terrorism, according to the group’s spokeswoman, Ramia Abdo Sultan.
Ms. Abdo Sultan said at a press conference, “The assumption that terrorism is inherently tied to religion is not only inaccurate but harmful.”
During the four-minute press conference, the alliance of Islamic groups did not take questions, instead informing the assembled journalists that they could email their questions.
Ms. Abdo Sultan also singled out ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess, claiming that the enforcement agencies’ unwillingness to engage with the Muslim community and their use of racial and religious profiling further weakened societal cohesiveness.
“The use of charged language by ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess, particularly during sensitive times, such as’religiously motivated Sunni violent extremism,’ fuels Islamophobia and further marginalises the Muslim community,” the statement reads.
“This approach undermines social cohesion and perpetuates the stigmatisation of an entire religious group based on the actions of a few.”
During the ASIO Annual Threat Assessment on February 28, Mr. Burgess stated that “Sunni violent extremism poses the greatest religiously motivated violent extremist threat in Australia”.
