Andrew L. Urban.
What with July 7*, October 7 and December 14 marked as dark days in the calendar, we don’t need the 25th anniversary of 9/11 as the Americans have it, to raise our consciousness about the implacable evil of Islam. I don’t need to enumerate the acts of evil perpetrated by Islamic radicals over recent decades; that list would fill the calendar. Draw your own conclusions about a religion that drives many of its followers to murder in their global jihad.
Twenty months before al-Qa’ida terrorists launched their catastrophic attacks of 9/11 on the US, a rare convergence of key actors in the rise of global jihad met in Kuala Lumpur over three days to discuss their terror plans, writes Quinton Temby, assistant professor of public policy at Monash University, Indonesia and the author of Subterranean Fires, a forthcoming history of global jihadism in Southeast Asia.
That old cliche baddie of the movies which has the evil protagonist yelling “Today here, tomorrow the world!” is the cartoon personification of the global terrorist.
Writing in The Australian, Temby says “The “al-Qa’ida summit” in early January 2000 included several of the key players whose actions would trigger the global war on terror and was almost certainly overseen by Hambali, the Indonesian who worked in close collaboration with 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Muhammed and who had authority over all al-Qa’ida-related operations in Southeast Asia.
Apologists for Muslims ignore that with some 1 million Muslims now in Australia, why more of them have not expressed outrage at the ongoing terrorism committed by Islamic fanatics? The majority are deemed peaceful, law-abiding citizens. If their Muslim way of life is the real deal, why have they not expelled (excommunicated?) the extremists. Why don’t we see more expressions of their revulsion against Islamic terrorism? Such public rejection of Islamic extremism would no doubt go a long way to protect their faith from outrage.
Research suggests that the majority of Muslims in Australia (unlike in Gaza, for example) do not support Islamic terrorism. At least that’s what they say in surveys and in public statements by Muslim leaders.
For example:
- Grand Mufti of Australia, Dr. Ibrahim Abu Mohamed: He has condemned specific terrorist acts. Following the December 2025 Sydney shooting targeting Jews, he described it as “an act of terror” and “a crime against humanity that cannot be explained under any circumstances.” He has also condemned attacks on synagogues and related violence in Australia, aligning with broader rejections of extremism.
- Australian National Imams Council (ANIC): ANIC has issued statements rejecting terrorism. In contexts like synagogue attacks (e.g., 2024 Melbourne incident), they supported condemnations of hatred and violence. They have also highlighted concerns over rising Islamophobia while implicitly or explicitly distancing from extremism through community safety appeals.
- Alliance of Australian Muslims (AAM) and ANIC joint statements: While focused on condemning Israeli actions in Gaza (mischaraterising them as “genocide” and ongoing since before October 7), these statements frame violence against civilians negatively and reject extremism in broader terms, though they do not explicitly name Hamas’s October 7 actions as terrorism in available records.
- Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (Australian branch, aligned with global leadership): The World Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, condemned the 2025 Bondi Beach terrorist attack in the strongest terms, stating acts of terrorism and hatred are “completely contrary to the true teachings of Islam.” This reflects a consistent Ahmadiyya position against violence in religion’s name.
So these Muslims leaders say they condemn Islamic extremist violence. But is that the whole story? And could/should they do more by way of public denunciation? Say, for example, by organising frequent Muslim peace marches that publicly condemn Islamic terrorists? Maybe every month? Perhaps on campuses? All capital cities? Maybe one at the Opera House?
No major Australian surveys have directly asked Muslim respondents “Do you support ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Hamas or similar extremist groups?” in a straightforward approval-style question. But the 2019 “Islam in Australia” National Survey (n=1,034 Muslim Australian citizens and permanent residents) conducted online in September–October 2019 by Griffith University researchers (Halim Rane et al.), disseminated via Muslim community organisations and social media was instructive. The sample was broadly representative on key demographics (gender, age, birthplace, etc.), though self-selected and only in English.
But key findings on extremism-related attitudes reveals a darker picture, as I have reported before:
9.5% identified as “Political Islamist” (“I am a committed Muslim who believes politics is part of Islam and advocates for an Islamic state based on shariah laws”).
3.3% identified as “Militant” (“I am a committed Muslim who believes an Islamic political order and shariah should be implemented by force if necessary”). Males were more likely than females to select these. These are the closest proxies to “extremist” orientations; the researchers described the militant group as a “smaller sub-group” with views that “could be considered extreme.” 3.3% is a small percentage, sure, but with almost 1 million Muslim in Australia, it’s a big number: over 30,000 are extremists. And that was before October 7 turbo-charged Muslim sentiment against Jews.
ISIS specifically: 24.5% said Islam advocates a particular political system. Of that subgroup (n=253), only 5% (16 people) regarded ISIS as a legitimate “Islamic” state. Most (60%) said “none” of the options (including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan) qualified.
93.3% agreed that “someone who dies attacking innocent civilians is not a martyr.” 89.5% said Islam “never permits armed conflict against civilians/non-combatants.” So 10.5% thinks it’s permitted under Islam. That’s some 105,000 Muslims in Australia alone.
88% said they were concerned or very concerned about “terrorism by Muslim extremists.” That leaves 12% who are not concerned about terrorism by Muslim extremists.
In short, there are thousands of Muslims who support Islamic violence, and some 30,000 of them are self-declared extremists. It is reasonable to argue that families, friends and the social networks of those 30,000 make up the larger number. Pardon my cynicism but I don’t expect to see any Muslim-led marches in Australia, condemning Islamic terrorism, fine words notwithstanding.
That is my point. So called pro-Palestinian marches and violence (some reminiscent of Nazi behaviour) are expressions of pride in anti-Israel actions and policies. While many said they were “concerned” about “terrorism by Muslim extremists”, they don’t appear to be so concerned as to, say, march against them.
Emboldened by the Albanese Labor government’s anti-Israel behaviour and its hollow condemnations of Islamic radicalism, Islamic radicals are keen to keep the flame of evil antisemitism burning for Islam.
*On July 7, 2005, four suicide bombers carried out coordinated attacks on London’s public transport, killing 52 people and injuring over 700. The bombings targeted three Underground trains and a bus.