Citizens of Australia now have to come to terms with yesterday’s version of ISIS on their streets in the shape of a radical Islamist who took at least 15 people hostage in a Sydney coffee shop. The incident has served as a stark reminder to the west of the threat posed to people going about their everyday business in a free society.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott condemned the incident but pointed out that the terrorist, Iranian national Man Haron Monis, was not on any intelligence databases and was a “lone wolf,” who basically acted alone.
The BBC reported that Abbott said at a press conference, “How can someone who has had such a long and chequered history not be on the appropriate watch lists and how can someone like that be entirely at large. These are questions that we need to look at carefully. The level of control that would be necessary to prevent people from going about their daily life would be very, very high indeed.”
In yet another example of the fanaticism of radical Islam, at least 130 people were killed today in Pakistan by Islamists from the Taliban who entered a school and executed school children, after setting their teacher on fire in front of their eyes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent condolences to the Australian government, and the good people of Sydney, saying the following.
“On behalf of the people of Israel, please accept my heartfelt condolences following yesterday’s brutal attack in Sydney. Israel and Australia face the same scourge of ruthless Islamist terrorism which knows no geographic bounds and which targets innocent civilians indiscriminately. Now, more than ever, the international community must join hands and work together to defeat these forces of evil, which threaten the security of all civilised nations. Kindly convey our deepest condolences to the families of the victims. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and the people of Australia at this difficult time.”
As the Netanyahu pointed out, the threat of radical Islamic terrorism, which is born from an extremist ideology, is as real to Australians as it is to Israelis, who daily face the Hamas branch of extreme Islam.. In saying that, the people of Britain, America, France, Belgium and many other western civilisations are also at risk in their daily lives, as the threat posed by ISIS and their ilk is turned into action.
So the question remains: Does radical Islam pose as big a threat to Australians as it does to Israelis? Let us know what you think in the comments feed provided below.
