Sack ASIO boss, probe arrests of teens on terror charges: Grand Mufti

Muslim leaders want Mike Burgess sacked over warnings on Islamic extremism, and say Muslim kids face terror charges due to ‘religious affiliations alone’ | WATCH

Sheik Wesam Charkawi addresses the crowd at Paul Keating Park in Bankstown in Sydney’s southwest Picture: Joanna Panagopoulos

NSW Police say they do not target individuals based on their “gender, sexuality, ethnicity or religion” after Islamic community leaders, and parents of numerous Sydney minors charged following the stabbing of an Assyrian Orthodox bishop, suggested young Muslims were being charged with terror ­offences because of “religious affiliations alone”.

The community leaders, headed by the Grand Mufti of Australia, Sheik Riad El-Refai, also called for the dismissal of ASIO chief Mike Burgess for comments he made that Sunni Islamic violent extremism posed the “greatest religiously motivated threat in Australia”, with the opposition calling on Anthony Albanese to “come out unequivocally and defend” Mr Burgess.

Sheik Wesam Charkawi, speaking on behalf of the group, said the minors were “not on the radar of law enforcement” before their friend allegedly stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel in Wakeley, and some were “targeted on the basis of faith”.

He demanded an inquiry into what led to their arrests and who was involved in the decision-making, and said terrorism laws were “overtly broad”.

Sheik Wesam Charkawi.

A 16-year-old has been charged with a terror offence for allegedly stabbing Bishop Emmanuel, and three 16-year-olds and a 15-year-old boy have been charged with conspiring to commit a terror act. A 17-year-old and 14-year-old have been charged with possessing violent extremist material. All are from southwest or western Sydney.

On Friday, the Australian Federal Police – which along with NSW Police and ASIO form part of the Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT) – defended the designation of the Wakeley stabbing as a terrorist act, alleging the ­“action was done to advance a ­religious cause” and that the 16-year-old allegedly made a number of religious statements during and after allegedly stabbing the bishop.

A NSW Police police spokesperson said: “When an incident ­occurs, police investigate the criminal activity and prosecute those responsible. Police do not target an individual based on their gender, sexuality, ethnicity or ­religion.”

Lebanese Muslim Association secretary Gamel Kheir said “we are condemning the acts, but we are not condemning the children”, and repeatedly noted the charges would be tested in court.

Yet he added “no other community is asked to condemn an act of an individual collectively” and questioned why authorities were not going after those who were “grooming” children online.

“We, the Muslim community, seem to be bearing the brunt of certain individual acts that the community is collectively being punished for,” he said.

Sheik Wesam said the recent arrests of the teens, which related to possessing extremist material that was “readily available … on the internet”, “amplifies … the threat of arrest to the community that any Muslim found with commonly accessible digital content could be at risk of terrorist-related charges under the overtly broad interpretation used by the police.”

He said the community was “outraged”, adding “these kids are just kids”.

“The lives of these minors have forever changed,” he said. “They face severe consequences, and prolonged incarcerations. Religious profiling through institutional power is something the community has endured since the so-called war on terrorism.

“The definition of terrorism includes elements that require an ­assessment by law enforcement individuals in determination processes. These appraisals should be impartial and objective but these recent arrests demonstrate that these decisions have been influenced by religious affiliations alone. What we’re saying here, very clearly, is these young kids were targeted on the basis of faith, religious profiling was occurring.”

ASIO director-general Mike Burgess. Picture: AAP

In his annual threat assessment in Canberra in February, Mr Burgess said “Sunni violent extremism poses the greatest religiously motivated violent extremist threat in Australia”. Sheik Wesam said it was “unacceptable for senior government officials, including law enforcement, to make inflammatory comments that further stigmatise and marginalise the Muslim community”, before calling for Mr Burgess to be sacked.

Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said calls for Mr Burgess to resign were “absurd”. “We should never fail to calmly and dispassionately identify the motivation of alleged terrorists because that helps us understand how we can prevent it in the future,” he said.