Sixteen people were killed in an anti-Semitic attack at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach by two Pakistan origin terrorists, who happened to be father-son duo, Sajid Akram and Naveed Akram.
The level of intense motivation to kill people in the name of Islam can be gauged from the fact that it was father and son together who committed this heinous and barbaric act. It is a rare incident where both father and son would resolve to such a dastardly act unless they are motivated by intense hatred against their victims, which obviously is based on their deep religious beliefs.
At the same time, there was a brave, courageous and daredevil act by one Ahmed Al Ahmed, again a Muslim, who despite being unarmed, confronted one of the assailants literally with his bare hands, overpowered him and snatched his gun, thus saving some precious lives. Had he not snatched the assailant’s gun, the latter might have killed several more people before being neutralised by the police. Ahmed’s was undoubtedly an act of great courage, which could have cost him his life too. It almost did as he got shot at. He is undergoing treatment in the hospital and is stated to be safe and out of danger.
While Ahmed’s act of courage has blunted the argument against the belief and perception that Islam as a religion promotes anti-Semitism, hatred and violence against other faiths, fact is that the terrorists have driven inspiration from the same ideology. Ahmed did prove that theory and perception wrong that every Muslim is not anti-Semitic and that every Muslim does not promote and encourage violence. That is a big relief and rightly so.
Not every Muslim, rather an overwhelming majority of Muslims, would not support or encourage what the father-son duo did in Sydney on the fateful evening of December 14. But not every Muslim is like Ahmed either. Leave aside confronting violence, most of the Muslims do not even oppose or condemn it. Rather, a large section of the community justifies such actions as revenge and retaliation against certain acts and imagined grievances.
The December 14 attack was apparently “provoked” by Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. A perception has been created that Israel has been too brutal in its retribution against Hamas. Those who suggest so conveniently ignore the fact that for Israel and Jewish people, it is a matter of life and death, literally. Their existence and survival are at stake. The October 7, 2023 surprise and macabre attack by Hamas on innocent people in Israel, that left about 1,200 dead, is the main reason for Israeli retribution.
Also read: Bondi beach attack suspect was Indian citizen: T’gana police
Israel never resorted to such strong and intense force against Palestinians or even Hamas ever. Yes, it has been fighting a perennial insurgency for decades, right since its modern existence, but it never used such force to defend itself. Radical and extremist elements among Muslims have been exploiting Israel’s retribution against Hamas. It is a fact that thousands of innocent people, including children, have died in Israeli bombing and starvation caused by the blockade. The question is who started all this and who provoked it?
The December 14 Sydney attack is not only the handiwork of ISIS-inspired ideology, but also the result of the response and attitude of several Western countries towards Israel. Most of these countries, besides Australia, have demonised Israel without understanding and appreciating its security and survival concerns. Interestingly, while the ‘West’ is so concerned about Ukraine's security, it uses a different yardstick against Israel although it faces a terminal threat to its existence.
These countries, including Australia, went out of the way to recognise Palestinian State. The recognition was more to show a sense of disapproval towards Israel. This encouraged worldwide anti-Semitic protests. It was not only the Islamic groups, but also the liberals and leftists who have been participating in these protests against Israel. It is a fact that these protests do not remain restricted to solidarity and support for Palestine and its people, but end up in a brutal exhibition of hatred against Israel. And the result is the brutal and barbaric incidents like the Bondi Beach shooting on innocent people who were celebrating Hanukkah, a Jewish festival.
The Bondi Beach fatal attack on Jews is not the first. There have been numerous such violent attacks even in places like the United States and Europe where Jewish people have been targeted and killed and their religious places have been attacked. The sad part is that most of the governments have been turning a blind eye towards such attacks. Only recently did the UK government ban a pro-Palestine group that was promoting violence and hatred against the Jews. But such actions are quite rare. Otherwise, governments have mostly been casual about such attacks.
Even the Australian government is on the defensive for having ignored the adverse reports about Naveed Akram, one of the Bondi Beach shooters. Despite his links with the Islamic State, he was taken off the watch list and let off in 2019 and also allowed to possess so many guns. Had the Australian government acted on time, may be the Bondi Beach terror attack would not have taken place. But as long as you overlook the ultimate motives of the “pro-Palestine” protests taking place everywhere, there will always be the risk of Bondi Beach-like terror attacks in future elsewhere as well.
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