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Consultative Structure
Community Relations
Media Analysis
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Case Study Three |
Terrorism raids November 2005
3. The aftermath (reporting period November 10 & 11, 2005)
The suspects About half of the reporting related the court hearings of various suspects, providing details of the charges and the cases against them. These included new details about potential targets for an attack and the chemicals and equipment police believed could be used to make bombs. One report focused on al-Qa’ida documents in the possession of the suspects, extensively quoting references to jihad against the “rotten regimes” in the West. Two reports focused on the bail hearings of two suspects. Both were refused bail, and the articles reported the magistrate’s focus on evidence of the men’s willingness to engage in “violent jihad” and belief that “the killing of innocent women and children is justified”. The Age reported extensively on the reactions from family members of the suspects, citing their disbelief that their loved ones had been involved in a terrorist plot, and provided substantial details about the men’s backgrounds and occupations. Three articles focused on details about particular suspects. One focused on the only Anglo-Australian suspect, while another provided details about the “downfall” of a young man who was well-known and liked in his local neighbourhood. The third article revealed that two of the suspects had only recently begun practising their Islamic faith after growing up in moderate Muslim homes, with friends expressing surprise at their apparent move into extremism. Two articles focused on the lawyers acting for the suspects, one providing extensive career and personal details about one of the lawyers. The other reported on the lawyer’s concern that his clients had little chance of receiving a fair trial because of the extensive media coverage and political commentary about the arrests. This article also presented views from academic law experts who agreed that the coverage was potentially prejudicial but emphasised the ability of juries to overcome such problems in their deliberations. The lawyers’ concerns were briefly mentioned in two other reports. Islamic community The reactions reported among the community ranged from condemnation of the arrests as a political stunt to criticism of the proposed counter-terrorism laws and shock, sadness and shame that members of the Muslim community would intentionally inflict pain and suffering on others. Two brief articles revealed that some of the arrested men had previously been approached by members of their community trying to persuade them away from extremism. Quotes from an online discussion forum were published revealing that some members were aware these young men were being drawn to radical teachings and that attempts to bring them back to mainstream beliefs had failed. When asked why the police had not been informed earlier, forum users responded that to report them without first giving them a chance to change their ways would be “a betrayal of Muslim principles”. The Age reported that Sheikh Omran had declared the raids a “show-off exercise”, asserting that police would have arrested the suspects following their earlier raids if they had any case against them. The Australian reported that Sheikh Omran believed inequality and injustice, not Australia’s involvement in Iraq, would drive Australian Muslims to commit terrorist attacks. The Australian also reported that support for the raids was widespread amongst the Muslim community, as discussed in an opinion piece by Waleed Aly, from the Islamic Council of Victoria. Mr Aly noted that online forums and community radio talkback had revealed that the arrests of suspects on concrete charges had addressed fears the community was being needlessly targeted and demonised. Calls for calm by Muslim community leaders were again reported, responding specifically to incidents in which young Muslims attacked the media outside the court hearing of Melbourne suspects and a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a police car in Sydney. Fears that “rednecks” would instigate revenge attacks against mosques and Islamic schools were reported in two articles, with calls for the police and government to provide increased protection in the community. The shock and horror expressed by Islamic community leaders that Muslims would consider undertaking terrorist action in Australia was reported across the four media outlets. Articles in The Canberra Times and Herald Sun reported on renewed assertions by Islamic community leaders that the new counter-terrorism laws would oppress freedoms and unfairly target the Muslim community. The Age featured a letter entitled “The day I felt ashamed to be a Muslim in Australia”, the author of which reiterated the Koran’s condemnation of violence, and related his own experiences of both discrimination and inclusion since arriving in Australia. A subset of articles assured readers that the mainstream Muslim community posed no threat, including assurances from Prime Minister Howard. Editorials in The Age, the Herald Sun and The Australian noted that the vast majority of Australia’s Muslims were moderate and did not support terrorism in any way, asking readers not to allow the arrests to taint their view of the mainstream Muslim community. The Australian also published a radio interview with Prime Minister Howard in which he assured listeners that Australian Muslims were against terrorism and that the arrested suspects and their intentions were “totally unrepresentative of Islam”. The Herald Sun published a piece by the Prime Minister in which he noted that the majority of victims in international terrorist attacks were Muslims and insisted that police actions were targeted not against the Islamic community but against potential criminals. Curtailing Muslims Most of the reporting and the opinion pieces called for tolerance and emphasised that the vast majority of Australian Muslims posed no threat to the Australian community. A number of opinion pieces asserted that Muslims would inevitably be targeted under the new counter-terrorism laws and that non-Muslim Australians would view the community with suspicion following the arrests. A number of articles reported on comments by various politicians calling for the freedoms of Muslim Australians to be restricted in various ways. The Age reported that Liberal backbenchers were again calling for a ban on headscarves in schools and proposing that people inciting violence should have their citizenship revoked. The Australian, the Herald Sun and The Canberra Times reported that Peter Costello had announced that Muslims wanting to live under sharia law should not come to or remain in Australia. Headlines included:
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