Posted on 09/10/2014 5:31:57 AM PDT by Dave346
Australian Federal Police confirmed they've carried out a raid at an Islamic centre south of Brisbane.
Two Queensland men have been arrested and will face terrorism charges relating to preparing to send fighters to join the conflict in Syria.
One has been identified as 31-year-old Omar Succarieh, the brother of Australia's first suicide bomber to die in Syria, Ahmed Succarieh.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Queensland Police conducted a series of raids in Logan and the southern suburbs of Brisbane this morning, with 180 officers involved.
The raids follow a year-long counter-terrorism investigation.
Police said they seized two cross-bows, electronic data and one firearm during the raid.
AFP Assistant Commissioner Neil Gaughan has said the two men were not accused or suspected of planning terrorist acts in Australia.
‘I would like to stress that there is no information or intelligence available to police or security agencies at this time to indicate that these males were involved in terrorism attack planning in Australia,” Mr Gaughan said.
Succarieh will be charged with providing funds to the terrorist organisation Jabhat al-Nusra.
He'll also be charged with preparing for incursions into Syria.
The other man, a 21-year-old, will be charged with preparing for incursions into Syria with the intention of engaging in hostile activities.
He'll also be charged with recruiting fighters to join the conflict.
“This has got nothing to do with Islam. This is criminal behaviour by Australians involved in terrorist activity,” Mr Gaughan said.
"I said at the commencement when I spoke about these charges, that these charges were in relation to Jabhat al-Nusra, not Islamic State."
Jabhat al-Nusra is a Syria-based Sunni extremist group that adheres to the global jihadist ideology of al-Qaeda.
Its stated objectives are to remove the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and ultimately to create a Sunni Islamist state in Syria.
In early April 2013, Jabhat al-Nusra pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and confirmed the group had received funding and operatives from al-Qaeda in Iraq (AIQ).
It is a banned terrorist organisation in Australia.
One of the locations for the police raids was the iQraa Islamic Centre in the Logan suburb of Underwood. Mr Gaughan would not confirm that bullet holes were found at the Islamic centre in Logan.
"We're not going to confirm that they're bullet holes. The forensic process needs to take its course."
A centre Facebook post on September 6 rejected reports it was promoting extremism.
"Islam and this centre does NOT tolerate extremism but not what the disbelievers portray extremism is," the post read.
"We do not discriminate either, so we have allowed many speakers to come and give lectures and share their views here."
Last month, the centre was a signatory to a statement from the wider Muslim community denouncing proposals to strengthen Australia's counter-terrorism measures.
The Abbott government's proposed laws will make it easier for authorities to identify, charge and prosecute people who have been engaged in training, fighting or supporting terrorist activities overseas.
The group statement, signed by iQraa and others, described the proposals as "unjust and unjustified".
"The primary basis of these laws is a trumped up 'threat' from 'radicalised' Muslims returning from Iraq or Syria," the statement read.
"There is no solid evidence to substantiate this threat."
The iQraa Islamic Centre is believed to have hosted a lecture this year on what followers should do if they were contacted by ASIO.
AAP sought comment from the centre on Wednesday but the phone rang out.
Outgoing ASIO chief David Irvine on Tuesday said the spy organisation was actively considered raising Australia's terror threat level, from medium to high.
There were unconfirmed reports of up to seven raids across Queensland on Wednesday.
Several officers were keeping guard outside the iQraa Islamic Centre on Wednesday afternoon, with others working inside.
Abu Amaan said he was a customer of the centre and described the police attention as "hysteria".
"It (the raid) is instilling fear in the Muslim community," he told reporters outside the centre.
He said the owners were "born and bred" in Australia, and the centre had been raided due to anti-Muslim sentiment.
Its advertised services include a gift store, book store, book cafe and Islamic clothing.
Mr Amaan said the centre had hosted all kinds of speakers.
"They don't discriminate," he said.
But he added: "I don't really know the guys very well. All I know is it's pretty harmless. I don't understand why all the hysteria."
This is a broken record they play and it is getting very old.
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