Islamic State Attack Down Under

The 29-year-old Somali-born man named Yacqub Khayre was a textbook terrorist. Following guidelines in an Islamic State hostage handbook, Khayre hired a prostitute and arranged to meet at a hotel in Brighton, Melbourne, on Monday. When she arrived, he tied her up and forced her to call the Channel Seven newsroom. Seven reported that the woman informed them she was a hostage. Then Khayre took the phone and said, “This is for the Islamic State. This is for al Qaeda.”

Soon after, armed police stormed the hotel where they found a hotel clerk had already been murdered. Khayre fired on the police with a sawed-off shotgun in what appears to have been an ambush. Three officers were wounded and Khayre was killed in the brief gunfight. The hostage escaped unharmed.

The attack comes on the heels of a series of high-profile attacks in Britain, and at a time when Muslim extremism in Australia is a hot topic for the Aussie public.

Only last week the Trumpet reported on “Australia’s ‘Extremist Infestation.’” Australians are waking up to the brewing extremism in the prison system and in Muslim communities. Monday night’s attack will only raise more questions about Australia’s problem with homegrown extremists.

Made in Australia

Khayre was, for all intents and purposes, Australian. He arrived in Australia in 1991 at the age of 3. He grew up here. He went to school here. He walked the same streets, ate at the same cafés, and frequented the same beaches as his fellow Australians. And yet Khayre became a murdering terrorist.

It wasn’t like this happened overnight. Many, including Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, are questioning why Khayre hadn’t already been deported. After all, he had an extensive criminal history. In 2007, he was charged with armed robbery. He spent three years in jail for a violent home invasion. He was only released in December last year. He made sure to cut off his tracking device before he carried out his two-hour siege.

But that isn’t all. Khayre was accused of planning a suicide attack against Sydney’s Holsworthy Army Barracks. He was one of five suspects. One other man was acquitted alongside Khayre in 2010. The other three conspirators are currently serving 18 years behind bars. Evidently the prosecutors dropped the ball and someone will be held accountable, but the larger issue is this: Khayre was homegrown.

There are reports that Khayre visited Africa once for what was likely a terrorist training course. But for the most part, Khayre learned all he needed from his base camp in Roxburgh Park. And he received all the encouragement he could have hoped for from the Islamic State.

The attack came weeks after the Islamic State’s publisher called on Muslims in Australia to take hostages by using sites such as Gumtree and eBay to place fake ads and lure potential victims. Khayre’s ploy didn’t stray far from that instruction.

Should I Follow the British Example?

Before the next round of the State of Origin or Australia’s upcoming cricket test series in England takes center stage in the news, everyday Aussies should take stock. If a man wrapped up in terrorist plots, convicted of multiple violent crimes and with a history of bad behavior in prison is still not deported, what should we as a nation do? And what should be our individual response to such atrocities?

Michael Keenan, the minister assisting the prime minister on counterterrorism, recently stated, “Unfortunately, [the Manchester bombing] confirms all the fears we have. This is the most serious terror threat that we have faced in our history. It is important that we are upfront with people about that. I completely understand that this makes people feel deeply uneasy. We don’t want people to change the way they go about their lives, we don’t want people to be afraid; we just want people to be aware.”

What a sad outlook! Don’t change. Just be aware. Just like the Australian police were aware of Khayre’s past, perhaps? Just like British police were aware of the terrorists in Manchester and on the London Bridge. Yes, better to, as the British say, “keep calm and carry on.”

But can we? Can we carry on with life as usual? Is that solving the issue? Look at Londonistan. Australia would do well to heed lessons that have so far been missed by its motherland.

For one, Britain pretends that “keep calm and carry on” is how you defeat knife-wielding maniacs. Australia’s government supports that, at least on a surface level. After the London attack, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop aided Turnbull in a recorded press conference. Unbeknown to the minister, the cameras kept rolling, catching her stating, “I don’t know how many times you are going to have to do this one.” They know what is coming, yet they dejectedly follow the same failing approach as the Brits.

Britain has no consensus on the cause of Islamist terrorism, and therefore lacks any real way to solve it. That is why its leaders settle for a “business as usual” approach. Australia cannot afford to take the same course! Yes, we all agree terrorism is evil, but look at how people balk when you start talking about halting immigration or deporting suspects! Nobody seems willing to walk the walk!

The Solution

“So what can we do?” you might ask. Well, for starters, here are a few places we recommend you visit.

If you’re a fan of radio, listen to Trumpet Daily Radio Show presenter Brad Macdonald’s take on the fundamental cause of Britain’s failure to solve Islamist terrorism.

https://soundcloud.com/trumpetdaily/the-london-attack-exposes-britains-fundamental-problem

But maybe you’re more of a reader—you’ve come this far in the article after all. If so, consider reading “London Terrorist Attack: How to Prevent Further Attacks.”

But perhaps you are more of a visual person. Why not watch this short Key of David episode. It aired last year following three deadly terror attacks in America.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9ywLDD1Om4

While these programs are discussing attacks in America and Britain, they apply just as well to Australia. After all, the Australian government is calling on Australians to do just as our friends in Britain and America have done—just carry on.

As Brad Macdonald wrote in his article “The Deadly ‘Keep Calm and Carry on’ Mentality”:

Today, “keep calm and carry on” is deployed to disengage the British public from reality. Today, “keep calm and carry on” stems from apathy and complacency. It is used to dissuade people from contemplating the truth, from asking tough questions, and from putting in place meaningful solutions. The phrase that once meant keep calm and carry on fighting now means keep calm and carry on sleeping.

Following the latest handiwork of a homegrown Aussie terrorist, will you adopt the same failing approach we have seen in Britain and America? Or, will you learn to—as Brad Macdonald admonished—stop, analyze the events, recognize the mistakes, meditate on the lessons, and then change the behavior that caused the crisis?

This will require you to ask hard and searching questions that most of our leaders are unwilling or unable to ask. But you can! Look to the aforementioned media as a starting point. And remember, “the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer” (1 Peter 4:7).