Says University of Wollongong Professor Adam Dolnik, who studies terrorism.
ADDED: The hostage-taker has been identified as Sheikh Man Haron Monis. He already has a Wikipedia article:
"Hate mail" campaign. Haron, together with his colleague Amirah Droudis, undertook a campaign protesting the presence of Australian troops in Afghanistan, by writing letters to the families of soldiers killed there, in which he called the soldiers murderers...AND: "An Iranian-born gunman and one of his hostages were reportedly shot dead in a chaotic firefight as police stormed the Sydney cafe to end the terrorist siege."
Murder case. On 15 November 2013, Haron was charged by NSW Police with being an accessory before and after the fact to the murder of Noleen Hayson Pal, allegedly stabbed and set alight in a Werrington apartment stairwell on 21 April 2013. His partner Amirah Droudis, was formally charged with Pal's murder. Pal was Haron's ex-wife.... On 22 January 2014, Haron... He told the court he has been charged in connection to the murder of his ex-wife because ASIO is conspiring against him to have him jailed... Haron stood outside the Parramatta Local Court wearing chains and holding a sign claiming he has been tortured in jail. He said: "This is not a criminal case. This is a political case."
Sexual assault case. On 14 March 2014, Haron was arrested and charged with sexually and indecently assaulting a young woman who went to his consultancy in Wentworthville, New South Wales for "spiritual healing", after seeing an advertisement in a local newspaper. Haron claimed he was an expert in "astrology, numerology, meditation and black magic" services.
Posts
53 comments:
From the comments there:
"And on top of everything, I heard that Uber's surge pricing algorhythm quadrupled the price of an Uber ride in downtown Syndney"
Context.
I am Laslo.
The "lone wolf" jihadi still kills and the publicity feeds the would-be jihadi.
One thing is for sure: Aussie media coverage of this is just as mindnumbingly awful as American coverage would be. Every terrorism cliche you've ever seen on American TV with an Oz accent.
Why does no one seem to understand that "lone wolves" are part of the Islamist strategy? They want people in all nations to be wondering if that Arab guy next to them on the train is going to flip out and start cutting people.
They consider it respect.
The hostage taker was guaranteed an unarmed group to attack.
After the Luby's massacre in Texas, Gov. Ane Richards vetoed concealed carry of handguns (open carry was also illegal for handguns). GW Bush was elected Texas governor partly because of his support for concealed handgun licensing in Texas.
In Australia, a massacre by a lunatic led to nationwide disarmament of the law-abiding.
Self defense is a human right. Except in Australia. And some parts of the US.
He's been holed up in a chocolate shop for many hours.
I wouldn't be surprised to learn he traded those five hostages for a carton of milk.
Why does no one seem to understand that "lone wolves" are part of the Islamist strategy?
I wondered the same thing. It definately would fit in with the instances we've seen lately in that mode...
the hostage taker had requested an Islamic State flag
Did (a non-terrorist) someone actually supply him with a flag ?
mikee said...
The hostage taker was guaranteed an unarmed group to attack.
Pretty much.
http://www.loc.gov/law/help/firearms-control/australia.php
"Firearms license applicants would be required to take a safety course and show a “genuine reason” for owning a firearm, which could not include self-defense.
...
Alongside legislative reforms to implement the National Firearms Agreement, a national buyback[sic] program for prohibited weapons took place in 1996-1997 and resulted in more than 700,000 weapons being surrendered[sic]."
They want people in all nations to be wondering if that Arab guy next to them on the train is going to flip out and start cutting people.
On my flight back to Madison yesterday, there were two college-age men from Saudi Arabia. They appeared not to understand English (based on their behavior in front of impatient me in the Security Line). I wondered.
On the flight out of Madison, I was behind in the TSA line a group of two women with 3 children each, none of whom had flown before. They held up the line even more.
I love to people watch. The flight to Madison yesterday from Atlanta, there was a family coming back from I'd guess Orlando. The teen daughter was doing math homework, and shouted everything while her Dad continually tried to shush her. I really do not miss the teen years. The little brother was on a Game Boy, and the mom was snoozing.
Fernandinande said.
-------------
good question, who (the police?) or how did they acquire the flag to give to him?
The people can only be said to be sovereign with no King to terrorize them because the Kings fear lone wolves with weapons meeting in Assembly under competent leadership. If only Kings can disarm the people, then peace returns for the oligarchs protecting their privilege. (See, Charles I, King of England)
"And reports that the hostage taker had requested an Islamic State flag suggested poor planning"
Meaning he is desperately trying to concoct an IED from chocolate truffles.
I am Laslo.
Question: how to distinguish "jihadi" from "crank" and/or "nutcase"? This guy appears to have a history as at least 2 of the 3.
@Ferdinande,
since there are such strict rules for acquiring guns in Australia, I wonder where this lone gunman got his gun?
Unfortunately, hostage takers have been known to "speed up the process" by killing a hostage every once in a while until the requests have been met.
Haidar: "I'll watch them, Jamal. Go put the flag in the window."
Jamal: "Ok...oh...wait..."
Haidar: "What?"
Jamal: "I..uh..you...sorry, Haidar, I..."
Haidar: "Oh for Christ sakes."
Jamal: "No problem. No problem. I just forgot. I had to go to the bathroom and I just....its at the hotel. I know right where it is. Its on top of the TV. I'll just tell the cops they have to bring it."
I can't speak to this guy, but I can say from experience that most Muslim men who immigrate to the West suddenly find themselves without the constant restrictions and cultural/ religious reinforcements to which they are accustomed.
What they have been trained to think is indisputably, absolutely true and which is reinforced daily from the minarets to the prayer rug is suddenly no more than a distant dream. Their own authority, their responsibilites, their own honor (a deeply harsh, primitive by our standards but honor-based system) is no longer there..
Their wives/daughters are going outside, meeting other men, and these guys can suddenly go to the mall and ogle women as the day is long, without punishment. There are strip clubs, there's porn all over, women everywhere at work etc.
Some handle it pretty well, others have a tougher time, and a few go absolutely apeshit.
Did the "spiritual healing" involve Rectal Infusion?
I am Laslo.
There are reports that ISIS has told followers to not come to the ME. Rather they should kill the infidel in their home countries.
Certainly blurs the line between lone wolf and ISIS fighter. I'm sure, to the hostages, this difference is not the issue of the day.
And yes, I expect the usual suspects to roll the big ball of narrative forward without addressing a lot of reality, especially in Australia
"... or a case of 'psychopathology in search of a cause.'"
That's one of the biggest problems of the modern era: Radical militant Islamicism too easily provides a ready home for those demonstrating a severe psychopathology.
When I travel to Sydney, that's the area I stay in. Going back next Spring.
Coexist
Well, at least I know now where the US Consulate in Sydney is. I'll have to stop by the Lindt Cafe.
Iowa Hawk Blog:
Have we moved on from the "unclear what his motives are" phase to the "of course all religions are crazy" phase yet?
I think we're moving into the "Christians are just as bad, see Tim McVeigh" phase..
The blogs have hands down covered this story far better than the provincial Seattle Times.
And for some people, of course, a Muslim behaving badly indicates only that we need to redouble our efforts in the battle against the terrible problem of Islamophobia!
"Anti-Muslim sentiment flared", the article tells us, without reporting any instances of such. Instead we just get tales of the heart-warming if costless gestures of preening hashtag warriors. I'm sure a few more hashtags could have prevented those two deaths at the cafe.
("There were fears that Australian Muslims could become the targets of racially motivated retaliatory attacks", we are told. Which is very likely true, if by "fears" one means, "fervent hopes of some newsroom libtard".)
People have to study the Hadith and the Koran on their own in order to decide if this kind of behavior is psychopathic or just a devout version of a very different religious doctrine.The media refuses to examine the issue.
From the gunman's (AKA Mujahid, jihadi) point of view, he has now guaranteed his entry into eternal paradise. The rest of us nonMuslims will burn in hell for eternity.
(http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/hadith/bukhari/052-sbt.php )
Volume 4, Book 52, Number 46:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "The example of a Mujahid in Allah's Cause-- and Allah knows better who really strives in His Cause----is like a person who fasts and prays continuously. Allah guarantees that He will admit the Mujahid in His Cause into Paradise if he is killed, otherwise He will return him to his home safely with rewards and war booty."
So in a sense this lone wolf is practicing work place violence in other people's place of work.
Looked at like that I don't see a problem here assuming no one gets killed. Unless by accident.
From what I read last night, the media coverage was poor because the police evacuated the area, which has numerous Australian and foreign media offices.
This may be the only time in my life that I give the MSM a pass.
When I go to Sydney I spend a lot of time in cafés for the WiFi. I think next Spring I'll get a cellular card for my iPad.
ISIS has weaponized the mentally ill.
This kind of public place hostage taking depends on fairly sure knowledge that the hostages will be unarmed.
Gun free zones are magnets for this kind of behavior.
tim in vermont: "ISIS has weaponized the mentally ill."
Well, to be fair, the left in the west fully "politically weaponized" them first.
John Brennan, the Director of the CIA, is a Muslim convert who refused to take the oath of office on a Bible. They used an early copy of the Constitution instead.
The real tragedy here would be if this incident led racist Australians to view their peaceful Muslim brothers with any kind of suspcion.
Oswald was a lone wolf Commie who nevertheless proves that Dallas (like all conservative or Southern cities) was filled with hateful racists. See, SOME lone wolves tell you something about the larger group (even if, see, they're not really from that group), but SOME don't. Who decides what lessons should be drawn? Why your betters in the Media, of course.
This guy was into "astrology, numerology, meditation and black magic." Is any of that consistent with what many Muslims believe?
"Using astrology or numerology to determine the future is haram. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed people who practice fortune-telling. Therefore, the people should be discouraged from following this sinful practice."
I'm also seeing various statements against using black magic (though possibly believing in it) and warnings about doing meditation.
@Ann,
perhaps that why he thought he needed the get-out-of-Islamic-Hell ticket of martyrdom.
Not really sure, though.
One thing really confuses me.
How many "political asylum" cases get evicted from the host country when they are charged and/or convicted of crimes in the host country?
Why did this guy remain, especially after being convicted of accessory-before-the-fact to murder?
He sent letters threatenting the lives of Aussie servicemembers and their families.
He was charged in over 50 sexual assaults.
Cleaning up Lena Dunham is one thing, but THIS guy?
ISIS has publicly called for individual acts of terror by Muslims all over the world. Even the mainstream American media hasn't been able to ignore this.
@Althouse
It's all part of it, do you see any proscriptions against black magic in the Constitution?
What is Satanism without Christianity?
"Question: how to distinguish "jihadi" from "crank" and/or "nutcase"? This guy appears to have a history as at least 2 of the 3."
The jihadis probably have a high level of mental pathology. Hasan certainly did and so did this guy. The degree to which Islam empowers the mental illness of members is a real concern. Whether he also made money from others who believe in Astrology or black magic is not the question.
Talk to a few paranoid schizophrenics and you will find all sorts of jumbled philosophy.
Anglelyne said...
And for some people, of course, a Muslim behaving badly indicates only that we need to redouble our efforts in the battle against the terrible problem of Islamophobia!
That article was hilarious, thanks!
"STORY HIGHLIGHTS ... Anti-Muslim sentiment flares after gunman takes hostages in Sydney"
The only example: "the (presumably) Muslim woman sitting next to me on the train silently removes her hijab"
What an asshole!
Ann Althouse said...
This guy was into "astrology, numerology, meditation and black magic." Is any of that consistent with what many Muslims believe?
Well. They belive there are such things a Jinns.
So, yeah. Why not.
A New Age Muslim
If I am ever held hostage I hope the response by the police is to find a way to come in with guns blazing. I think that is the response hostage-takers should expect.
I would consider myself a dead man as soon as I became a hostage and be grateful if the results turn out better than that.
Ann Althouse said...
"This guy was into "astrology, numerology, meditation and black magic." Is any of that consistent with what many Muslims believe?"
Really couldn't say. But he was also into taking non-Muslims hostage and killing them. Which is consistent with what *loads* of Muslims believe.
Is this where you start asking whether they *really* believe that? Maybe they are just pretending they like kidnapping and killing us, but in the privacy of their own minds they find it repugnant? Isn't that one of your "themes"?
Well I hope they used bullets with pig fat on this Haron buy.
That and do what Gen. Perishing did to the Muslim uprising in the Philippines.
What did he do?
He had the terrorist buried in the skins of pigs. Very UN-Muslim he was!
But he got results.
Do the world a favor, Australia, and stuff the loser's body inside a pig carcass and bury him upside down. Full media coverage, and have the PM tell the world this is what terrorists with Islamic flags and propaganda have to look forward to.
Ann Althouse said...
This guy was into "astrology, numerology, meditation and black magic." Is any of that consistent with what many Muslims believe?
12/15/14, 11:48 AM
And Mohammed Atta went to strip clubs. Therefore 9/11 had nothing to do with Islam. On the level, are you that dumb?
Post a Comment