Pick-and-choose in fighting violence: the hidden agenda?

We should be very proud of our security agencies: they successfully traced twitter account holder who threatened community activist and charged the accuser (http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/03/11/ipswich-woman-faces-court-over-online-hate-attacks-0). But this quick and effective action may face some questioning: why our authorities were slow and ineffective in tracing thousands of extremists’ threats and subsequently ineffective in arresting any perpetrator for the last 5 years.

I, as an example, was receiving since mid 2012 steady flow of hate messages, including abuses, threat to kill me and hurt my kids. To date, no one message was successfully traced and no one was subsequently arrested. Even when I was physically attacked at least 3 times, I provided pictures, videos, car plate-numbers and phone numbers of perpetrators, no one was arrested. Of course except the high-profile attack I coped in front of Chanel 7 cameras May 2013. But even though the whole incident was filmed and broadcasted widely on many media outlets here and abroad, the perpetrator was found to be “community builder” and escaped any charge.

This should lead us to ask thousands of questions: why security agencies are very quick and effective in solving some crimes, but slow and terribly ineffective in solving others? Does this depend on the profile of the victim in the society? Or maybe it is related more to the perpetrator’s profile?

Let us discuss some of the threats I received for the last 5 years and try to answer some of these questions.

The first public attacks I received were during the NSW election campaign 2011. During January 2011, ALL my posters were ripped off, my campaign workers were threatened and I was personally threatened in front of tens of people outside Al Bukhari bookstore. The perpetrators were volunteers inside the bookstore. I even passed names to Auburn police station. The police officer told me that he cannot do anything, even though I was threatened inside the Auburn police station in front of that police officer.

While my complaint was ignored by police, it received extensive media interest. I was contacted by journalists from ALL major media outlets in Australia. I was even contacted by The Times magazine. At that time, I did not know why the media gave me all this attention, but I refused to broadcast my complaint. Now I understand why single complaint received all media attention in Australia and around the world, but all my subsequent complaint in 2012 received little media (and authorities) attention.

In January 2011, the Syrian crisis did not start yet. The complaint was against notorious Wahhabi extremist “sheikh” and his followers. It was a good media opportunity to stir some Islamophobia and get coverage, readers and business. While all serious threats I, and many in the community, received after the beginning of Syrian revolution were ignored only for one reason: because we were on the wrong side of the crisis.

From mid 2012, Wahhabi extremists intensified their violence against any opponent (or possible opponent) to Syrian “revolution”. As the Syrian “revolution” enjoyed the support of ALL our Parliamentary politicians, ALL media outlets and support of our security agencies, this violence campaigns by Wahhabi extremists were largely ignored. Not only this. The politicians were denying them. Surprisingly, security agencies were not only in denial. They were suggesting that it is not about extremism but rather about drug-dealing. I was personally asked (under threat of prosecution) to stop talking about these violence campaigns.

The media that was eager in the past to pick any story about “Muslim” wrongdoings, this time was largely silent. They did not take advantage of this golden opportunity to try and spread more Islamophobia….!!!

The reasons were very clear: they all sacrificed all these opportunities to continue the support for the “Syrian revolution”. All this despite the fact that this support and turning blind eyes on these violent campaigns meant allowing extremists to brainwash, recruit, fundraise and send terrorists to fight in Syria. And all this was the reasons why we have the highest radicalization level in Australian contemporary history now.

So the quick and soft actions to arrest of violence perpetrators depend on the profile of the victims: if the victims are friendly with current media and political agendas, the action will be swift and perpetrators will be arrested immediately and convicted.

This is why Wahhabi extremists who shot Ali Ibrahim, burned Al Hariri shop, attacked many community members (before mid 2014) where never brought to justice. At that time, the agenda was to help Syrian “revolution” at any expense.

We should be happy that the agendas are changed. But this leaves the victims of Wahhabi extremists deeply disappointed. We were let down and left alone to fight extremists for years. All this with no recognition of our sacrifice and courage. On the contrary. We were described with all stupid description. All this because we were swimming against the tide, despite being ahead of the whole nation in predicting the ugly outcome.

What is more disappointing in the fact that agendas were changed means that the same people who were behind extremism for the last years, became now the face of fighting against the same extremism they promoted between 2011 – 2014.

I will write about this in details… later on…