“After an apparent religious epiphany, Baryalei started attending his local mosque, grew his beard and began following Muslim preachers on YouTube.” Eventually he joined the Islamic State and got involved with the recent jihad terror plot in Australia. One thing mainstream analysts of Islam and terrorism and people like John Kerry never bother to explain is how people who develop a “passion for Islam” end up involved in groups that are, in the mainstream view, so obviously un-Islamic.
“‘He liked cocaine, loved women and could be violent’: Australian terror leader Mohamed Ali Baryalei worked at a strip club before he turned to radical Islam,” by Emily Crane, Daily Mail Australia, September 23, 2014:
The alleged ringleader of a plot to execute a random person on Australian soil was once a drug-abusing strip club worker in Sydney’s notorious Kings Cross who loved gambling, women and cocaine.
Mohammad Ali Baryalei, who is now Australia’s most senior Islamic State leader, worked as a spruiker outside a strip club owned by Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim before he turned to radical Islam.
Before he allegedly started recruiting Australians to fight in Syria and Iraq, the 33-year-old from Sydney was once a womaniser who mixed with gangsters and suspected drug dealers, according to the ABC’s 7.30 program.
‘He was a big party animal,’ a former friend told the program.
‘He drank a lot, was a big smoker, he liked drugs, loved women and could be violent.
‘He gambled a lot … He once won $8,000 or $9,000 on the pokies, then played it back down… and he loved cocaine.’
Through lawyers on Tuesday, John Ibrahim denied owning the strip club Baryalei worked at.
Mr Ibrahim also denied knowing or having any involvement with Baryalei.
Baryalei’s former friend said he became increasingly troubled as time went on and he developed a ‘moral dilemma’, which prompted his obsession for Islam.
Police allege Baryalei was the catalyst behind last Thursday’s counter-terrorism raids that saw more than 800 police raid multiple homes in Sydney and Brisbane.
The raids were sparked when police allegedly intercepted a phone call from Baryalei to Sydney 22-year-old Omarjan Azari, which detailed the plot to execute a random Australian on camera.
Baryalei, who went from being an Afghan refugee to senior Islamic State militant, had a deeply troubled upbringing with years of physical abuse and mental illness.
His family fled Afghanistan in 1981 when he was just 40 days old and they arrived at Sydney’s Villawood Detention Centre when he was seven.
He was raised in Sydney’s northwest and attended Terra Sancta Catholic High School, but his father became violent and abusive towards him.
Baryalei suffered bouts of depression as a teenager and even spoke of suicide when he was unemployed in 2009.
After an apparent religious epiphany, Baryalei started attending his local mosque, grew his beard and began following Muslim preachers on YouTube.Baryalei was shown in a number of YouTube videos himself traipsing around the streets of south-western Sydney with a microphone and purportedly attempting to convert random people to Islam.
As his passion for Islam developed, Baryalei gained a following of young men and police later found out he was secretly recruiting followers to fight in Syria.
In April last year Baryalei left Australia for the Middle East to initially join Al Qaeda group Jabhat Al Nusra.
But within two months he switched to rival militant group, the Islamic State, where he gained a trusted position and quickly became the key intermediary for scores of Australians taking up arms.
Neighbours of Baryalei’s mum told The Australian she had no idea her son was involved with militant groups until police raided their family home at Quakers Hill last December.
‘She thought her son was over there studying,’ the neighbour said.
‘After her house was raided, she said they must be mistaken, her son would never do anything wrong.’
Baryalei is believed to be currently in the Syrian city of Raqqa in a protected location, according to the newspaper.
The Australian Federal Police have an arrest warrant out for Baryalei.
Wtf? says
Moderate Islam has finally done something. The Grand Mufti of Australia has coordinated and instructed the 250 mosques across Australia to all give the same sermon today. That is to reject ISIS and online underground self proclaimed sheiks. It’s a start but something we have all been calling for. How effective it will be we can only hope but they are taking responsibility and action so far. I am not an apologist for Islam so I finally see this as the message of world disapproval of this reckless cult is slowky getting through.
ian b. says
I wonder how hopful we can be? There is a spirit of militancy that is happening as a result of rejecting the prevalent relativism of the west. Whatever your beliefs relativism is an attack against them, undermining and leveling them. Religious people firstly but also ideologues of every stripe are put in a defencive position against this force and are returning to more orthodox forms of their faith. therefor it is the strongest interpretation of the foundations that is important now to the young people who are seeking Truth.
Angemon says
Red flag, red flag, red flag. Is the mosque he frequented under investigation?
dumbledoresarmy says
Yep, I want to know which mosque it was and whether it’s been surprise-searched.
If it hasn’t been, it ought to be. Pronto.
Which is the matter that I, as an Australian citizen, and every other Aussie here present posting or lurking, ought to be raising with our elected representatives and specifically with the relevant government Minister or Ministers.
Ayatrollah says
It is as if Muslim carry a virus and they can go religious and freak out at anytime.
Charli Main says
They do—–the Allah retro- virus.
No Fear says
Yeah, it’s called “Unleashing your inner Mohammed”.
jewdog says
This guy’s story is a twisted caricature of the moral turnaround tale. He started out as a ne’er-do-well who indulged in cocaine, women and violence, found Allah, and now he’s into hashish, sex slaves and mass murder. But that’s the great thing about Islam: it magically turns vices into virtues. Psychopaths find that very therapeutic.
Greyhound Fancier says
Of course, Islam appeals to reprobates, because it’s the only “religion” that enshrines all manner of terrible behaviors (murder, rape, mutilation) as religious duties. So the unregenerate man can have his horrid behavior and consider himself religious, too.
No Fear says
Mohammed understood that a criminal person who is troubled by their own bad behaviour was simply a tool for the Ummah to use….violent men could “redeem” themselves by fighting and hopefully killing non-muslims (in battle).
Qur’an (3:169-170) – “Think not of those who are slain in Allah’s way as dead. Nay, they live, finding their sustenance in the presence of their Lord; They rejoice in the bounty provided by Allah: And with regard to those left behind, who have not yet joined them (in their bliss), the (Martyrs) glory in the fact that on them is no fear, nor have they (cause to) grieve.”
Qur’an (8:15-16) – “O ye who believe! when ye meet the Unbelievers in hostile array, never turn your backs to them. If any do turn his back to them on such a day – unless it be in a stratagem of war, or to retreat to a troop (of his own)- he draws on himself the wrath of Allah, and his abode is Hell,- an evil refuge (indeed)!”
Muslim (20:4678) – It has been reported on the authority of Jabir that a man said: “Messenger of Allah, where shall I be if I am killed?” He replied: “In Paradise.” The man threw away the dates he had in his hand and fought until he was killed (i. e. he did not wait until he could finish the dates).
This idea of redemption in Islam is quite different to redeeming oneself by accepting Jesus or other non-violent methods in other faiths.
Compare the two:
Islam – if you are troubled then fight and kill kuffar and attain Paradise!
Christianity – if you are troubled then accept Jesus as a role model and stop doing bad stuff and you will gain Heaven.
Polar opposites.
Steve Golay says
Who is that guy in the background in the pink shirt and ear plug – a SSI gay marriage jihadist dude?
dumbledoresarmy says
Paging my fellow Australians here present.
All of us should be writing to the PM and to the Defence and Immigration ministers, demanding to know why this man – who, thankfully, is now not on Aussie soil, but in the dar al Islam, where he belongs, and where he should be required henceforth to remain – has not been stripped of his Australian citizenship, and his passport annulled.
The postscript to the letter should make the point that if we had not admitted Afghan Muslim “refugees” into Australia in the first place we would not now have to worry about this man; and demand that we should STOP playing Muslim Roulette. We should not allow any more identifiable card-carrying Muslims under any circumstances – whether as conventional immigrants, or ‘refugees and asylum seekers’ – into Australia. Precautionary principle.
Just *one* Baryalei is one too many.
When in hole: STOP digging.
Right now, our pollies are feeling nervous, because of the possibility that Baryalei’s plans included a Mumbai-style ghazi “swarming” raid upon Federal Parliament. So: let’s strike while the iron is hot.
No Fear says
OK.
Phil says
Shall do, mate.
dumbledoresarmy says
From the article – “Neighbours of Baryalei’s mum told The Australian she had no idea her son was involved with militant groups until police raided their family home at Quakers Hill last December.
“She thought her son was over there studying,’ the neighbour said.”
Oh suuuuuure she did. “Studying”. Studying Islam. Doing his prac. – dda
“‘After her house was raided, she said they must be mistaken, her son would never do anything wrong.’
I’d say she’s using Islamic doublespeak. What she means is that – after his return to Real Islam, his return to the mosque, his growing of the beard – he would not do anything *Islamically* wrong. Big difference, that.
I bet she knows. I bet she approves of what he’s doing. I am glad that her house was raided, and if the AFP didn’t give her a very thorough grilling, they *should have*.
Will says
One thing that you can say about Islam is that it is a real scoop for the trash of western society. I am yet to meet a convert who wasn’t already a loser and just made certain by submitting.
BC says
As I have said before religion is a mind warping thing. The converts are always the most extreme and we see evidence of that over and over again.
BC says
‘she said they must be mistaken, her son would never do anything wrong’
That has been the cry of mothers down the ages!
payingattention says
Can someone explain how its possible to cancel the citizenship of a naturally born Australian?
Rajivi says
Those criminals, barbarians and perverts are converted to Islam, because, it gives them a blatant approval to rape/attack women/kill/behead..
It is reported that Muslim immigrants in Netherlands are openly attacking Dutch girls/women , but the PM criticizes Geert Wilders for his negative views on Moroccans/Muslims.