Terror at home: Numan Haider’s journey from suburban teen to jihad
HE was the typical suburban kid who loved his family, girls, cars and his mates. But a love of life could not compete with the deep hatred Numan Haider felt as an extremist Muslim.
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HE was the typical suburban kid who loved his family, girls, cars and his mates.
But a love of life could not compete with the deep hatred he felt as an extremist Muslim.
For Numan Haider had turned into a teenage jihadi.
Now his parents’ Endeavour Hills home had become a house of grief and of unanswered questions.
The 18-year-old’s older brother was comforting his parents yesterday. Their mother, a broken woman, was unable to utter a word.
TERROR AT HOME: JIHAD REVENGE FEARS
A LOOK INSIDE THE RADICAL WORLD OF AL-FURQAN
PASSPORT BIND: FOREIGN AUSSIES STRANDED
EDITORIAL: TAKING A STAND AGAINST ISIL
MCGUIRE: COMMON GROUND EXISTS IF YOU LOOK FOR IT
BARTON: WE MUST STAND TOGETHER AGAINST TERROR
BEZZINA: CALM NEEDED AGAINST TERROR THREAT
RULE: THE TALE OF THE ENEMY WITHIN
“She did not know what her son was doing,” a relative said.
“She is in shock and very upset.”
A failed romance with a woman whom Haider had converted to Islam had left him devastated in recent weeks.
But his behaviour had been worrying close mates and authorities for several months.
Acquaintances said the teen appeared to be a “good kid” who had been “brainwashed”.
As his relationship soured, Haider took to the streets of Dandenong trying to convert people to Islam. He was one of five people seen thrusting brochures into shoppers’ hands last Thursday.
Witnesses recalled seeing up to 15 police surround the teen outside the Hub arcade. One said Haider was dressed in army camouflage pants and holding a black-and-white flag.
Undeterred, Haider returned next day, retailers said.
The misguided devotion on show when he ranted in Dandenong Plaza, waving an Islamic State flag, brought him to the attention of counter-terrorism police.
His Facebook page also had hate-filled posts, including: “The main message I’m sending with these statuses and photos is to the dogs AFP and ASIO who are declaring war on Islam and Muslims.”
His quiet Afghan family had moved to Endeavour Hills seven years ago, after living for some time in Adelaide. The men in the family took interest in their cars (as shown by the photograph on the front page showing Haider at the wheel).
Haider’s father was said to be a driving instructor.
“They were always in the garage, cleaning it out or fixing the cars,” a neighbour said.
“They were a normal family. Very polite, nothing out of the ordinary.”
One man who knew Haider said the two recently had lunch, and Haider told him of his break-up and the stress he was under as a result of being investigated for involvement in terrorism activities. “It (the break-up) was a huge factor in his life. They were living apart. He was very upset.”
Adding to his frustration was the confiscation of his passport and his being “harassed” by ASIO and police.
“They always were knocking on his door, asking questions about him.”
Supporters said yesterday Haider had been a “good kid”, a “martyr”, a “gentleman” and hoped his “grave will have a window to paradise”.
Neighbours remembered a quiet, at times surly teenager. “He would nod to you if you said hello. Like most teenagers, he would not always want to speak,” another resident said.
Haider found support in the form of controversial self-proclaimed sheik Junaid Thorne.
“This boy was a normal good practising young Muslim youth, with great character and kind moral,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
“He was an average normal youth who spent his time hanging out with his friends, attending local mosques, and doing what every other youth does. Yet he was categorised as a “terrorist” by this deceiving unjust government, and considered a threat to the local community,” Thorne wrote.
Haider has also been linked to radical Muslim group al- Furqan. A senior Muslim leader said the group would “mosque jump” and recruit new members.
“They are a cancer group,” the leader said. “They are a dangerous group and are moving to extremism.
“We know a few Afghanis have been brainwashed by this group.”
Two police are now hurt. A teen is dead. A family mourns. And a nation is on edge.