Daily Times

The siege of the café in Sydney in which a lone gunman held a fearful crowd hostage has left a deep scar on the Australian people, a society that felt safe and removed from the warzone this part of the world has become. The attack lasted for almost five hours, ending in two hostages dead as well as the gunman. Man Haron Monis has been identified as the perpetrator of the Sydney siege, an incident that brought under lockdown the business hub of the city. He brandished arms and made hostages hold up an Islamic banner at the window of the café, igniting reports that Islamic State (IS) was behind the incident. However, with the release of the identity of the gunman we see that we are giving Monis too much ‘credit’ — these were the actions of a lone wolf and could boast no group planning, organisation or motive. Monis was a disturbed individual, desperate for some kind of recognition. He was mentally unstable, had been proved to be involved in his ex-wife’s murder. Iran wanted him extradited for fraud allegations and Australia gave him asylum in 1996. That goes a long way in speaking volumes about Australia’s immigration policy but also what this episode means for the repercussions it will have for the entire Muslim community living there and in other western societies.

Monis was not part of any Islamic group nor was he a jihadist returnee from the Middle East; he was obsessed with terror organisations and wanted to leave his own mark. Just because he was Muslim is a fact that may produce a backlash on immigrant communities. However, Australians have come out in support of Muslims to prevent any hate crimes that may occur after this incident: the #Illridewithyou campaign can teach us all lessons about tolerance and support. Monis was the kind of individual who can never be associated with any one community or group. His actions were his alone and no prejudice can be laid against Muslims living in Australia. Monis being Muslim was an accident of birth and nothing more. The siege of the café was an unfortunate culmination of lax immigration, lack of government checks on what was clearly a disturbed individual and a bizarre side effect of the world we live in now. *