Radical Islamic preacher and self-styled Sheikh Mohammed Junaid Thorne has asked Allah to “destroy those who plot against us” and issued a message to supporters declaring this morning’s raids as an attack on “Islam and Muslims”.
The 25-year-old Perth preacher, who has been conducting spiritual healing sessions in Sydney and gave the final sermon at the controversial Al-Risalah Islamic Centre, said the terror raids were “more than what a sane person can bare”.
Thorne described living in Australia as “Arab countries back in the medieval days” and said intelligence agencies were invading “our privacies”.
“The Australian Government along with its authorities are clearly attacking Islam and Muslims,” Thorne said.
The preacher, who has links with extremist Salafist group Millatu Ibrahim, said the government was endorsing “institutional terrorism”.
“We ask Allah to destroy those who plot against us, and to keep their harm away from us. Ya Allah look after your obedient servants and protect them from the harm of this government,” he said.
“Ya Allah this government and its authorities have felt safe from your punishment and therefore unleashed their wrath against the innocent harmless Muslims.”
Former head of the extremist Al-Risalah Islamic Centre Wissam Haddad has issued a statement on the raids, saying he feared he may have been one of the targets.
“The Australia of yesterday is no more today; Australia has become one of the world’s biggest concentration camps! Where you are not welcome to stay and not allowed to leave,” Mr Haddad said.
“From the early morning I started to receive calls one after the other, messengers asking are you OK?”
Mr Haddad claims police attempted to remove the hijab and niqab of a mother in one of the raids and that her 14-year-old son was pushed into a wall during an alleged scuffle.
“Just as in 2005, these (raids) come as new laws are being tabled in parliament next week,” he said.
“Many families terrorized in the middle of the night, brothers and sister beaten, and stories of harsh policing are emerging, looks like we are heading to a police state.”
A Facebook page has been launched today calling on Muslims to attend a “snap protest” at Lakemba station tonight.
The page has invited 1500 people to attend to “stand as one tonight” to “denounce this demonisation and oppression of Muslims”.
Other extremist supporters have taken to social media to launch attacks against the Abbott Government and police after this morning’s raids.
Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman Uthman Badar told supporters the terror raids were directly linked to “anti-terror laws”.
“Just in time to justify the bogus terror threat level rise and the ‘anti-terror’ laws which will be tabled to Parliament next week,” Mr Badar said.
“Same thing Howard did in 2005.”
Mr Badar — who represents a group that supports the establishment of an Islamic Caliphate and implementation of sharia law — said it would be a “tough week” for Muslims.
“But we need to stand strong as a community and speak the truth about these laws and this unjust targeting of Muslims and we must uphold the presumption of innocence of those who have been arrested,” he said.
“It’s the government that needs to be interrogated here to prove its claims, not those being made examples of.”
On Twitter, Abu Jacob Al-Ozzy also posted about the raids.
“So many homes raided today in Australia keep the brothers arrested in your dua more hate towards Islam,” he said.
Since the terror threat level was raised by the government, some radical supporters have deleted their Facebook accounts and the Al Risalah Islamic Centre was closed down on the weekend.