One of those convicted said this after the verdict: “Islam is truth religion. Thank you very much.” Oh, you’re welcome. But it is again striking that someone whom we are commanded on pain of charges of “Islamophobia” and “bigotry” to believe has misunderstood Islam yet again invokes Islam, and only Islam, in response to the verdict. The element of his motivation that we are commanded to ignore and discount is the one that seems to be most important to him.
“Australian Muslims found guilty of terror plot,” By Bonnie Malkin in the Telegraph, December 23 (thanks to all who sent this in):
Three men who believed Islam was under threat from western nations have been found guilty of plotting a terrorist attack against a Sydney army base.
Wissam Mahmoud Fattal, 34, Saney Edow Aweys, 27, and Nayef El Sayed, 26 – all Australian citizens of Somali or Lebanese origin – were convicted in the Victorian Supreme Court of conspiring to plot a suicide attack on the Holsworthy base, and could face life in prison. Two other men, Abdirahman Mohamud Ahmed, 26, and Yacqub Khayre, 23, were found not guilty of the same charge.
As jurors left the court following the verdict, Fattal said: “Islam is truth religion. Thank you very much.”
During the three month trial, the court heard that the men had planned to shoot as many people as possible during the attack as revenge for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Prosecutors said Aweys had described Australians as “infidels” and said the 2009 Black Saturday bush fires, which killed 173 people, were punishment from Allah.
In one encounter with an undercover officer, Fattall said: “If I find way to kill the army, I swear to Allah the great I’m going to do it.”
The group, which met at a mosque in Melbourne, identified the army base as a “soft target” and sought approval for the attack from Somali sheikhs on a visit to the African country….
Officials said the men were motivated by a belief that Islam was under attack from the west, and planned to keep on shooting until they were killed….