Watching videos of Islamic State atrocities it's hard to believe the world's response hasn't gone much beyond just that - watching.
A large factor in the world's relative inaction must be the fact that the killers are Muslin. We did not tolerate Japanese or German atrocities to this extent. But the leaders of civilisation today put their energies into excusing the ideology behind the systemised barbarism. Very few say anything at all about stamping it out.
This report from Quilliam (www.quilliamfoundation.org) makes a compelling case for urgent action.
The children of the Islamic State are being inculcated in the cult of the Quran with deadly implications.
Around 7-8 million people live under Islamic State rule. One third of that population are children. Around 2 million kids are in the Islamic State education system.
The Islamic State education program focusses on reading, memorising and strictly living the Quran. Theirs is not a special extremist version of the Quran - it's the same Quran, word for word as found in the home of Muslims the world over.
Nor is the Islamic State interpretation extreme. It is strict and literal. And the strict application of Muhammad's Islam is being inculcated into hundreds of thousands of very, very angry young men.
Young boys are being trained as informers against parents, suicide bombers, Jihadis and lifeless-eyed sociopaths. Quillam's language is dry and academic - but the implications of this statement are clear:
"...the spiralling cyclical dynamics of violent conflict will continue to be felt for generations to come".
There are more than 30,ooo women currently pregnant in the Caliphate. This report describes the education system these kids are being born into.
I start with an apology and warning. I am still struggling with the implications of what I've seen in researching this article.
Quilliam's report tell us this about the syllabus for young boys in these Islamic schools:
Executioners
Children are used to execute those who do not comply with Islamic State ideology. By forcing young children to participate in executions, Islamic State normalises these atrocities, and further indoctrinates children. Some children assist in executions by handing adult fighters knives, while other children carry out executions themselves. Moreover, children are taught that execution is a privilege and an honour—and in one case, a prize. In a recent video from Islamic State’s Kheer Province, for example, six young children are awarded the opportunity to execute Syrian prisoners. The children run through a maze and celebrate after finding and killing the captives. A child states that they ‘have been raised to conquer East and the West and we will restore Al-Aqsa and Al-Andalus.’
You can see the video at this website - however I strongly caution you to think twice about watching it.
I am sickened right now, revolted and dumbfounded that the world has allowed this to happen. Islamic State is the Caliphate that Islamists want to see rule the world. It's effectively a country right now with an education ministry, curriculum, teachers and hundreds of thousands of kids at school. And like a sausage factory, it's churning out young killers stuffed full of Muslim crap.
Here's a precis of the video:
The video begins with showing various images of Israel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu. It then cuts to footage of students studying the Quran outside, when six students are called from the class a la Hunger Games. The six boys are introduced, with the last boy’s voice high enough to be a girl’s.
The scene cuts to outside of an ancient ruin, somewhere in Deir ez-Zor, Syria. The six boys, now dressed in camouflage, are guided one-by-one by their Islamist militant teachers through the cavernous and decrepit citadel while brandishing pistols. Five of the boys then execute five “spies” hidden in various places.
The sixth boy, with the high voice, sets down the pistol and takes out a knife.
He then beheads the last man.
The video is extremely disturbing because of the children’s ages in it and the way it is filmed. The whole feel of the video is that of a high-tech, futuristic, first person shooter video game with multiple camera angles. Popup insets with victim’s information right before they are executed helps to concrete this unearthly vibe.
Why this role for children - implications for us
The current generation of fighters sees these children as better and more lethal fighters than themselves, because rather than being converted into radical ideologies, they have been indoctrinated into these extreme values from birth, or a very young age. Further, because they have been taught religious concepts from their early days, they are seen as a more ‘pure’, and have a greater chance to achieve martyrdom than the current generation.
In a spiritual sense, because these children are seen as blessed by God and without sin (for example, they are not adults who have made hijra, or migration to Islamic State, later on in their lives), it is more likely that they will be helped by God to a greater extent than adults would be. Furthermore, because these children are born in the Islamic State, and are not corrupted by previously living in countries with secular values (including Arab countries, which may have Islamic but also secular values.) these children are saved from corruption, making them stronger than the current mujahedeen (fighters), because they have a superior understanding of Islam from youth and from school curriculum, and are better and more brutal fighters as they are trained in violence from a very young age.
.........there is no real sense of a normal education for them. Therefore, the aim is to prepare a new, stronger, second generation of mujahedeen conditioned and taught to be a future resource for the group.
The prolonged exposure and desensitisation to violence that these children experience affects their physical and psychological well-being, both in the short term and in the long term. They are unable to contribute constructively to their societies because they do not develop the ability to socialise, or become loving parents.
The content of the curriculum is similarly restricted, especially compared with the pre-Islamic State curricula in Iraq and Syria, and compared to what is normally studied in the West. Subjects such as drawing, music, nationalism, history, philosophy and social studies have all been removed. Instead, they have been replaced with Qur’an memorisation, tawheed (monotheism), fiqh (jurisprudence), salat (prayer), aqeeda (creed), Hadith, and Sura (life of Muhammad). Some subjects have been limited, for example, one Geography textbook only names continents, and a History textbook only teaches Islamic History. Physical Education has been renamed ‘Jihadi Training’, and includes shooting, swimming, and wrestling. The Physical Education textbook includes workout routines, as well as a section on weaponry that teaches various parts of history, assembly, firing, and instructions on cleaning and storage of light weapons.
Moreover, Islamic State teaches children brought up in Western educational systems that they were raised ‘on the methodology of atheism’ and are required to attend special schools.The children of families who have immigrated to Islamic State from outside Syria and Iraq are given lessons on Arabic language, Qur’an, and Hadith. Boys who have completed lessons in Qur’an memorisation, tajweed (recitation of the Qur’an) and Arabic language move on to physical and military training where they are taught hand-to-hand combat and weapons training.
On 14 May 2015, 15 IS fighters who had lost or retreated from previous battles were executed by child soldiers in the Hamdaniya district, in the Ninewa plains.
Islamic Socialisation
Socialisation involves initially interacting with children, usually in public spaces or mosques, and encouraging engagement with IS by offering free toys and candy, or the opportunity to hold an IS flag, and in some cases, weapons. At this stage, children are exposed to IS ideology and are drawn in through the narrative of the so-called caliphate’s military successes, its utopian society, and the alleged benefits for those who have already joined.
In stark contrast with past conflicts, IS recruitment also heavily involves family members in co-opting children into joining the group. Reports of child soldiers in other conflicts reveal that they are sometimes forced to kill family members, both to preclude any possibility of returning home, and to break down the psychological defences of the child. Islamic State, on the other hand, is not just a rebel group, but an aspiring state, and it needs societies, not just soldiers. As such, its recruitment tactics feed into its long-term strategy by enrolling the whole family, not just the youth. Mothers are given books instructing them how to bring up jihadi children, suggestions include telling bedtime stories about martyrdom, exposing children to graphic content through jihadi websites, and encouraging them to play sports and games which improve their fitness and hand-eye coordination.119 In this way, children are brought up exposed to Islamic State ideology by those they trust and love, consequently making them more likely to trust Islamic State itself.
Finally, children are also socialised into joining by other children. As previously recruited children are seen engaging with IS, children watching from the outside come to believe that the practices they witness are the norm, and a positive course of action for them. Child recruiters give speeches, which spur both adults and other children into action through the lure of status, purpose, and admiration.The indoctrination that begins in schools intensifies in training camps, where children between the ages of ten and 15 are instructed in shari’a, desensitised to violence, and are taught specific skills in order to best serve the state and take up the banner of jihad.
What about the girls?
Girls are taught how to cook, clean, and support their husbands so that they can be good wives and mothers, while boys are prepared for combat by learning military skills.
ENDS (Quilliam report extracts)
I wanted to answer this question because so many world leaders say it has nothing to do with Islam.
Is Islamic State Islamic?
This is what I found.
For their guiding principles, the leaders of the Islamic State ... are open and clear about their almost exclusive commitment to the Wahhabi movement of Sunni Islam. The group circulates images of Wahhabi religious textbooks from Saudi Arabia in the schools it controls. Videos from the group’s territory have shown Wahhabi texts plastered on the sides of an official missionary van.
According to The Economist, dissidents in the ISIL capital of Al-Raqqah report that "all 12 of the judges who now run its court system ... are Saudis". Saudi Wahhabi practices also followed by the group include the establishment of religious police to root out "vice" and enforce attendance at salat prayers, the widespread use of capital punishment, and the destruction or re-purposing of any non-Sunni religious buildings. Bernard Haykel has described al-Baghdadi's creed as "a kind of untamed Wahhabism".
ISIL aims to return to the early days of Islam, rejecting all innovations in the religion, which it believes corrupts its original spirit. It condemns later caliphates and the Ottoman Empire for deviating from what it calls pure Islam,and seeks to revive the original Wahhabi project of the restoration of the caliphate governed by strict Salafist doctrine. Following Salafi-Wahhabi tradition, ISIL condemns the followers of secular law as disbelievers, putting the current Saudi Arabian government in that category.
Salafists such as ISIL believe that only a legitimate authority can undertake the leadership of jihad, and that the first priority over other areas of combat, such as fighting non-Muslim countries, is the purification of Islamic society.
Nothing to do with Islam? I don't think so.
More importantly, neither do hundreds of thousands of angry young boys.
This is Malcolm Turnbull echoing many other world leaders with his trendy views about the Islamic State or Daesh:
......(talking about) this Daesh terrorism and pointing out that this is not Islam. They do not speak for Islam. They are not speaking for God. They are godless, they defame religion, they are blasphemers.
Here is an archive of Islamic State government administrative documents. It's the dry, bureaucratic paperwork that keeps the Islamic State running. It's also a terrifying insight into a life in a strictly compliant Quran/Sharia world.
I've grabbed a few documents at random - imagine having this slipped under the door:
Wali [governor] of Wilayat Halab
Ultimatum for the Christians of Mosul
Islamic State Diwan al-Qaḍa 19 Ramadan 1435 AH 17 July 2014
[...]
God Almighty says: "And when a community of them said: 'Why do you warn a people whom God is going to destroy or punish severely?' They said: 'To be absolved before your Lord and perhaps they will beware of Him."- Qur'an 7:164.
After informing the heads of the Christians and their followers of the appointment for a meeting to affirm their status in the shadow of the state of the Caliphate in Wilayat Ninawa, they avoided it and failed to attend on the intended appointment...and it had been decided that we offer them one of these three choices:
1. Islam 2. Dhimmi pact (and it is taking the jizya from them)- [cf. Qur'an 9:29] 3. If they refuse that, only the sword for them.
But The Commander of the Believers- Caliph Ibrahim- may God make him mighty- has given them the blessing of allowing them to get themselves out of the borders of the state of the Caliphate at the latest by Saturday 21 Ramadan 1435 AH at noon. After this, there is only the sword between us and them.
[...]
Everything the Islamic State does is governed by or relates to the Quran and Sharia:
Early rulings imposed in Mosul (June 2014)
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham Wilayat Ninawa Date: 20 Sha'aban 1435 AH [c. 18 June 2014] Statement no. 28
The Almighty has said: "Except the one who repents, believes and does good deeds: God will eplace the evil deeds of such people with good ones. And God is forgiving, merciful"- Surat al-Furqan Ayah 70 [Qur'an 25:70].
After God blessed the mujahideen in His path with victory in enduring wilayat Ninawa and made us mighty over the Safavid army, the Rafidites and the mushrikeen in the heart of their abode, we have begun by God's commendation and blessing to apply the rulings of the blessed law on those who have been ignorant of the Sunna or neglected it and kept distance from the direction of the Messenger of God (SAWS). And these rulings are:
Imposition of niqab on all Muslim and non-Muslim women.
Women may not go out to the streets or markets or ride cars except with the presence of a mahrim.
Non-married women are called to particpate with the mujahideen from the sons of the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham in resistance efforts for the fight against the Rafidites and the Safavid army.
Youths and youngsters are prohibited from wearing kafir Western dress that also represents decadence and depravity. And it is forbidden to imitate the heretics in doing the hair and shaving the beard.
Shari'a courts are to be established in all the districts of the province that are subject to the control of the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham.
And the violator will be punished by flogging and must repent to God the Blessed and Almighty.
Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham Media office for Wilayat Ninawa
The Royal Australian Navy has this heartland issue in common with the Islamic State
The leadership of both organisations place importance on promoting the Quran and rewarding those who memorise it. An absolute, unforgivable disgrace on Australia's part. As those on Shindy's lists utter the words of the Quran, our enemies are putting them into action against us.
Notice on memorizing Surat al-Baqara [chapter 2] of the Qur'an (Aleppo province)
Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham Wilayat Halab
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Statement for distribution:
To all the brothers in all the bases of the security officials:
All who memorize Surat al-Baqara will receive valuable financial recompense.
Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham Wilayat Halab
Qur'an memorization session, Manbij, Aleppo Province
Islamic State Wilayat Halab al-Da'wa wa al-Masajid
Announcement
God- Glorified and Exalted is He- has said: "And We have indeed made the Qur'an easy to remember: so is there anyone who will remember it?"- al-Qamar 17 [Qur'an 57:17].
"So is there anyone who will remember it?"- i.e. So is there anyone who will remember it and take heed?
The Messenger of God (SAWS) said: "The best of you are those who learn and teach the Qur'an"- narrated by Bukhari.
And in a narration: "Indeed the most favoured of you are those who learn and teach the Qur'an"- narrated by Bukhari.
Suffer the little children unto me.
Call for Repentance of Teachers (Ninawa Province: December 2014)
Islamic State Caliphate on the Program of the Prophets/Prophethood Diwan al-Ta'aleem 28 Safr 1436 AH Statement for distribution: No. 09
[...]
Indeed the educational system is considered among the most important centres that states establish and cultivate, and through this system is made clear the ideology/creed of the state, its program, its consideration of the situation, as well as the nature of its relations with internal society and its classes, and external society in its varying directions and cultures.
And Satan has not found a greater entrance than the entrance of ignorance and arbitrary whim, and this has been among the most important causes of misdeeds and rebellion.
For knowledge has been a condition of tawheed...and among the qualities of the Prophet (PBUH) that the Qur'an mentioned about him was the quality of teaching this Ummah, as the Almighty said in describing him: "Who may teach them the Book and Wisdom and to purify them" [Qur'an 2:129]. And the One whose affairs are exalted said: "Who may teach you the Book and Wisdom."
And Islam has warned about the influence of those who take charge of education for themselves because they are the ones responsible for tampering with the inborn-nature of tawheed that God has endowed as related in a hadith of the Prophet [PBUH]: "Every child is born with true faith. It is the parents who make him Jewish, Christian or Magian."- Bukhari 1358.
After God Almighty enabled the Islamic State and it announced the Caliphate, it has directed attention towards the programs of the ministries of education affiliated with the kafir and apostate governments that have been reckoned to be programs attempting to separate religion from state, so the current educational system has been found to be...a decadent program establishing the call to kufr [disbelief] and establishing the principles of secularism, nationalism and Ba'athism in its various forms- something that calls for disavowal of it and the realization of the call for repentance from those working in it on the legal level.
Thus the Diwan al-Ta'aleem has decided to adopt the following measures:
1. Putting a stop to the current educational committee for now:
a) Ceasing the preparation of the new educational programs bound by the restrictions of our Hanif law. b) Stopping the work of all prior teachers until the fulfillment of the call for their repentance.
2. None of the old educational programs are to be taught in the areas of the state of the Caliphate, whether public or private schools or lessons.
3. Citizens of the Islamic State are not allowed to attend schools outside its borders and which establish principles of disbelief.
4. Whoever wishes to work in the educational foundations: after his repentance, and definition of his stance before the special Shari'a committee, must record his affirmations in the education centres, so as to undertake developmental and qualifiying Shari'a sessions. After that the educational qualifications of each according to his speciality will be completed.
5. The one who contravenes this statement for distribution will be subject to judicial inquiry with the coming down of deterrent consequences according to Shari'a for him.
Note: The authority of this statement is the result of an investigation prepared by the al-Eftaa and Buhuth Committee [NB: the same that issued rulings justifying the treatment of Yezidis, burning the Jordanian pilot etc.] under the title: "Clarification Message on the Statement of Judgment on the Education System in the Nusayri government."
And God is predominant over His affair but most people don't know it.
Islamic State Diwan al-Ta'aleem Dhu al-Qarnain
ENDS
My next post is about the children of the Islamic State. It is one of the most shocking and frightening things I have ever had to confront.
There are 30,000 pregnant women living in the Islamic State as we speak. Hundreds of thousands of children are being brought up as anti-social, hardened killers schooled in the Quran, Jihad and the annihilation of the Kuffir - you and me.
The world has a big problem with Islam now.
We are standing by and watching Islam multiply today's problem by orders of magnitude.
What you will read and see will break your heart - but it must harden our resolve to annihilate the Islamic State and those who stand for it.
I've always wondered about the US resolve to annihilate these Jihadis. We've seen the vision of huge convoys parading - why do we not simply swoop and destroy them?
Likewise in battle. As you'll see these guys are not the best on ground.
The helmet cam vision comes from the Islamist who says "I've been shot" towards the end of the clip - the one talking to the guy rolling like Pat Mullins with a rifle.
Like many of the infantry minor tactics you'll see demonstrated here, the Pat Mullins method is not taught at Kapooka or Singleton.
Here's an article we put together early in January this year about the result these Jihadis should achieve every time they take the field of battle against freedom.
General Jim Mattis on the battles of annihilation we should fight against the Islamic State
Malcolm Turnbull fought hard for Kevin Rudd and Labor in his first stint as Liberal leader.
Christmas comes early for Rudd
Peter Hartcher
On the second anniversary of his election, Kevin Rudd got everything he wanted.
When the Liberal Party's leadership agreed to the Prime Minister's plan to put a price on carbon emissions, it positioned Rudd to win the signature reform of his first term.
And when the Coalition tore itself apart in debating the decision, it gave Rudd the gift of a chaotic Opposition.
The Opposition sent the most damaging combination of messages about itself it possibly could: it demonstrated it does not have confidence in its leader, yet it does not have a ready alternative.
Malcolm Turnbull's decision to try to deliver his party for Rudd's reform quickly developed into a proxy debate on his leadership.
Malcolm lost the debate. By 1 December 2009 the Liberal Party had a Liberal leading it.
For the Chairman, Climate Change was always bigger than the Party. The Liberal Party that is.
As a result, the Chairman joined the Labor side of the House for a while. Literally.
There he is sitting with then Labor Ministers Marn Fern and Dr Craig of Emerson Contacts.
The Chairman was unbridled in talking up Rudd's ETS to the cost of his party.
The day after Tony Abbott became leader of a Liberal Party that had determined not to support Rudd's ETS, Turnbull published this - not to his party's base but to his lefty luvvies on Twitter.
Thanks for your support - sorry haven't had a chance to reply to all yr msgs. Very disappointed the ETS has been blocked in the Senate.
Turnbull had Christmas 2009 to think things over. Many people of principle resign from a business or organisation over an issue like this. Very few stay, take the pay, pretend to be a part of the team - and publicly advocate for the opposition on the boss's time. Malcolm could have become an independent. He could have left the Parliament. He could have just shut up.
But that wouldn't be Malcolm.
No winners in fight over climate change
February 8, 2010 Phillip Coorey
Principle will make a rare appearance in Parliament today when Malcolm Turnbull speaks in favour of the emissions trading scheme legislation that was reintroduced last week.
Turnbull, who helped shape the scheme and then lost his leadership for trying to have the Coalition support it, will adhere to his view that the only serious way to reduce greenhouse gases is with a market mechanism that caps emissions and puts a price on carbon.
After losing the leadership, he predicted that whatever scheme the Coalition came up with as an alternative policy would be ''a con, an environmental fig leaf to cover a determination to do nothing''.
Turnbull did not change his opinion last week when the Coalition released its policy, which requires people to do nothing if they choose, and relies on pledges from industries that do not want an ETS to cut their emissions in return for taxpayer-funded incentives.
This week he must decide whether to cross the floor to support the government bill, as he has threatened, or abstain as colleagues are urging.
Abstaining would be better for party unity and would augur more favourably should Turnbull ever want to be leader again, a prospect that would not arise until after the election, at the very earliest.
Former Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull has crossed the floor of Federal Parliament to vote in support of Labor's emissions trading scheme.
Mr Turnbull sat with government MPs in the lower house on the second reading vote to pass the carbon pollution reduction scheme. He was joined by independent MP Rob Oakeshott.
It didn't matter to the Chairman that Labor had the numbers to do what it wanted anyway.
Didn't matter that he could have abstained or sat the whole thing out licking his wounds.
Try to picture John Howard in opposition sidling over to the government benches to sit amongst Ros Kelly, Treasurer Keating or Gareth Evans to help them out. Sorry, can't see it. But innovative Malcolm is a different story.
Turnbull sought the limelight for himself at the expense of his Party. That's the sort of bloke he is.
What's to stop him doing the same thing to his country?
Reader Earl points out the Australian Government wants to pay some volunteers to help us understand unpaid volunteers. $600,000 is up for grabs.
As Mr Smith has pointed out on a number of occasions the investigative skills and writing skills of many on this website are quite astounding.
So with that in mind are there any among us that could be interested in contributing to the following project?
If you can't do the work yourself, maybe you could share your views on how you think the project will benefit Mr and Mrs Average Australian or help to transition us to the smart economy of the future?
Earl
Project Summary
This project aims to examine the effects of human resources practices on the attraction and retention of high-quality volunteers. Volunteers provide essential health and educational services to the Australian population, which makes it important for non-profit organisations to develop effective human resource practices that attract and retain the best people. However, non-profit organisations often struggle to attract and retain a sufficient number of volunteers. This project will examine the effects of three human resource practices on the thriving and organisational attachment of volunteers using theories of motivation and retention. This knowledge is intended to help governments and non-profit organisations improve on policies and procedures to manage Australia’s volunteer workforce sustainably.
There's just on $600,000 up for grabs - look forward to hearing from you.
UPDATE
Sorry, no more offers thanks, the job's been filled - congratulations Marylene Gagne, John Cordery and Patrick Dunlop
Everyone appears to think that Trigg is being replaced, which unfortunately is not happening. I think the problem has arisen because the media always refers to her as the Australian Human Rights Commissioner when in fact she is the President of the Commission. As I posted above there is an actual position for a Human Rights Commissioner. During the Labor R/G/R era no-one was actually appointed to the position. It appears the Government is making an appointment to the position prior to the election as Shorten stated he wouldn't be doing same if elected.
ENDS
Such politicking as will amaze you.
Apparently had we not had Gillian over the past few years, we'd have suffered a degradation to our human rights architecture and the cause of human rights in Australia would have been significantly set back.
I thought she was the set-back.
File this in the George 'seemed like a good idea at the time' docket.
Fifteen-year old Farhad Jabar was not a lone wolf murderer - 4 other men allegedly acted in concert with their 15 year old Muslim mate. They were all allegedly part of an Islamic State cell.
Here's the ABC today, an organisation not given to overstating Islamic links.
Curtis Cheng murder: Four alleged Islamic State terror cell members have bail denied
Posted 8 minutes ago
Four members of an alleged Islamic State terror cell who appeared at Goulburn Local Court over the shooting of a New South Wales Police employee have had their bail formally denied.
Milad Atai, Mustafa Dirani and Raban Alou all appeared in court via video link this morning.
None were legally represented and chose not to apply for bail.
A fourth man, Talal Alameddine, was represented in court but his lawyer also chose not to apply for bail.
During the brief appearance, Atai held up his index finger to the camera, a gesture associated with Islamic State.
Fifteen-year old Farhad Jabar was identified as the gunman who was shot dead by police after the attack.
ENDS
Curtis Cheng was allegedly murdered by 5 Islamic State terror cell members acting in concert to achieve their Muhammad inspired end. The idea of an Islamic State terror cell in Sydney is a shocking and frightening development. More frightening still is the inability of many in our community to face the facts and to call it for what it is.
Let's go back to the headlines when Mr Cheng was shot in the back of the head by an Islamic-gown wearing shooter shouting Allah uh-Akhbar.
At the time "responsible" commentators went out of their way to avoid mentioning Islam or to imply any connection to any group. Much of the early reporting took the "troubled youth" and lone-wolf angle.
But the cake is taken (and eaten) by this Dutchman, one of the world's master grant-getters and self-promoters.
Ramon Spaaij has his own website dedicated to promoting Ramon Spaaij
There are lots of photos of Ramon in a quick Google search
This is what Ramon's website says about Ramon,
"Ramón conducts internationally recognised research on violent extremism and lone wolf terrorism.
Ramón is a regular media contributor. He has contributed to a wide range of media including The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Financial Times, The Guardian, The Boston Globe, The Irish Times, The Globe and Mail, El País, The Australian, BBC, ABC, SBS, and many others."
A day after Curtis Cheng was shot and killed to the chant of Allah uh-Akhbar, Ramon Speeij, a former Deputy Director of the La Trobe Refugee Research Centre leapt into print to use Mr Cheng's murder to draw attention to his lone wolf theorising.
The Conversation website was happy to carry this story along with this disclaimer about Mr Speeij's global business:
Disclosure statement
Ramon Spaaij receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the National Institute of Justice (USA).
Does he what! More on that shortly. Here is his discredited and disgraceful story theorising about the reasons Curtis Cheng was lying in the morgue - and all to suit his own grant funding.
In the latest attack, 15-year-old Farhad Khalil Mohammad Jabar shot dead police employee Curtis Cheng at close range outside the New South Wales police headquarters in Parramatta last Friday. Farhad continued to fire his handgun before being shot dead by officers who responded to the shooting. Police believe he acted alone and that his actions were politically motivated.
There is still much we do not know about lone-wolf terrorism. While this is a growing field of research, to date there are only a handful of empirically based academic studies. But this much we do know.
Mixing personal vendettas with political grievances
Much of the inquest into the Sydney siege has centred on the question of whether Man Haron Monis had a political grievance or was primarily motivated by personal issues. But this is a false dichotomy.
Eric Rudolph saw himself enmeshed in a greater struggle.Reuters/Tami Chappell
Lone wolves combine various political complaints with any number of highly personal vendettas in complex ways. This is a signature of lone-wolf terrorism that distinguishes loners from organised terrorists who share collective grievances. Sometimes politics is the dominant theme of the loner’s radicalisation; other times, politics is a submerged theme. The same seesaw applies to personal grievances.
For lone-wolf terrorists, assigning motives in clear-cut terms is therefore problematic.
Lone wolves see themselves as being enmeshed in greater struggles that give meaning to their actions and provide a sense of moral superiority and self-righteousness. “A soldier at war” is how Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph put it. The attack is the catalyst to achievement of their mission to force society to see the world from their perspective. Shelley Shannon described her attempted assassination of abortion provider George Tiller as:
The most holy, most righteous thing I’ve ever done.
At the same time, lone-wolf terrorism is often also a deeply personal quest for belonging and a clamour for attention. As British nail bomberDavid Copeland famously stated:
If no-one remembers who you were, you never existed.
The words lone-wolf or wolves appear 32 times in Mr Speeij's article. Islam, Islamic, Islamist and Muslim do not appear at all in relation to Farhad Khalil Mohammad Jabar, supposedly the subject of the story. This 15 year old alleged Islamic State terror cell member apparetly had more in common with Catholic abortion activists and neo-Nazi rapists who get off on the internet than anything to do with Islam.
Why would an apparently respected academic write one or two paragraphs about a man of whom he knows nothing, woven into a web of observations about unrelated people who acted alone to maim or murder?
Perhaps Mr Speeij thought he could use Mr Cheng's death to help promote this book on Lone Wolves. When your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
The truly disturbing aspect is the government funding gleefully handed over to the Dutchman.
A simple Google search in the following terms brings up 10,500 hits.
The Victoria University website proclaims:
Research grants
2015: Victorian Department of Health and Human Services. Hemphill, D., Spaaij, R., Fry, C., Wilson-Evered, E., Stewart, B., Westerbeek, H., Payne, W. Victorian sport integrity capability analysis.
2015-2018: DST Group – VU Industry Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program, Victoria University & Defense Science and Technology Group. Grossman, M., Spaaij, R., Agostino, K. Understanding the relationship between online and offline social influence in radicalisation leading to violent extremism.
2014-2017: Australian Research Council Linkage Project (LP130100366). Spaaij, R., Farquharson, K., Gorman, S., Jeanes, R., Lusher, D. Participation versus performance: Managing (dis)ability, gender and cultural diversity in junior sport.
2013-2015: Youth & Identity Major Grant Scheme, Utrecht University. Van Bottenburg, M., Spaaij, R., Van Aken, M., Van Hoof, A., Giesen, I., Rijnhout, R., Koster, M., Vermeulen, J., Claringbould, I. Violent behaviour among young people on the football field.
2012-2015: National Institute of Justice (USA) (2012-ZA-BX-0001). Hamm, M., Spaaij, R. Lone wolf terrorism in America: Using knowledge of radicalization pathways to forge prevention strategies.
Dr Ramon F Spaaij, awarded $200,000, is collaborating with Victorian Health Promotion Foundation, the Australian Football League and Centre for Multicultural Youth on the project Participation versus performance: Managing (dis)ability, gender and cultural diversity in junior sport.
Playing sport can benefit young people but by its nature is competitive. This research examines whether junior sports clubs manage the need for success alongside as well as providing an inclusive environment which welcomes people of all backgrounds and abilities.
Dr Ramón Spaaij, Senior Research Fellow at La Trobe University is considered the world’s leading expert on lone wolf terrorism and recently published the book Understanding Lone Wolf Terrorism: Global Patterns, Motivations and Prevention.
With a $247,000 research grant from the National Institute of Justice, which is part of the US Department of Justice, he and Professor Mark Hamm, an internationally recognised professor of criminology at Indiana State University, will use the theoretical and methodological approach developed in the book to conduct a two-year study into the enablers and triggers of lone wolf terrorists.
That's $.5 million in just two grants. A lot of money for a man who could not see that the Islamist murderer was part of an Islamic State terror cell - even though he was dressed that way and yelled Allah uh-Akhbar during the killing.
Mr Speeij's own research distinguishes the lone wolf thus:
Lone wolves combine various political complaints with any number of highly personal vendettas in complex ways. This is a signature of lone-wolf terrorism that distinguishes loners from organised terrorists who share collective grievances.
Maybe you need to go back to school Ramon and spend a bit of time away from the media spotlight.
Your story is not only academically disappointing, it's also quite offensive. There is scant regard for the murder of a family man, a father and dedicated public servant. Curtis Cheng was still lying in the morgue when you used his killing to advance your genius.
The Islamic State has claimed an Australian victim, killed on Australian soil.
Mr Cheng was selected because of where he worked and who he worked for.
WARNING: DISTRESSING FOOTAGE The family were knocked unconscious after they were 'deliberately targeted because they are Western tourists'
An alleged victim who was caught up in an attack on a British family in Thailand has spoken of the moment he raced in to help the trio as they were beaten unconscious.
The man, known only by his online username Usual Suspect, claimed the family - a mum, dad and their son - had been deliberately targeted for being Western tourists.
Police released CCTV images of the horrifying attack, which happened while the group were celebrating Thai New Year, in a bid to trace the suspects, after reportedly arresting two men.
The shocking footage shows the moment the tourists became involved in an argument before being punched to the ground, where they were repeatedly kicked and stamped on.
Writing on a Hua Hin forum, the eyewitness, who claims he was also beaten, explained he saw the family leave the bar he had been in all night before leaving with his wife seconds later.
Police are hunting a gang who carried out a horrific attack on a British family in ThailandPeople watch in shock as the thugs lay into the 'elderly' couple and their son
"Within 20/30 meters of leaving the bar the Thais were punching the 65-year-old old lady in the face," he wrote.
"The elderly gentleman was down on the floor, and their son was beaten very badly.
"At this point I caught up to the scene and pushed one of the youths away from the woman," he continued.
"I got severely punched and kicked for my troubles, but felt the need to protect this frail lady.
"The three of them are still hospitalised, and I will need cosmetic dental work done."
The attack happened in the early hours of April 13 during Songkran festivities, which is when Thais celebrate new year.
The British family had enjoyed a night out in the beach resort of Hua Hin - located 250km from the capital of Bangkok - when they were involved in an argument.
The couple's son can be seen lying flat out on the ground while his mother remonstrates with the menThe family were brutally assaulted in Hua Hin, as they celebrated the Thai new year
The trio, all wearing shorts and sandals, appeared to be trying to reason with the men who had approached them.
But suddenly a Thai struck the British man in the head and the incident quickly developed into a full-blown melee.
The woman - believed to be in her 60s or 70s - can be seen trying to sit back up but as she raises her head off the ground she's kicked straight in the jaw, instantly knocking her unconscious.
Just seconds later all three Brits were lying prone on the ground.
Another person, who claims to have witnessed the assault, posted on a separate forum claiming they overheard a group of Thai men saying they were going to attack "farangs" - a Thai term for Europeans.
They posted: "It happened last night at 2am when a group of Thai men who were over heard saying they were there to attack "Farangs", attacked a elderly couple leaving a bar."
"A Good Samaritan who stopped the beating of one of the victims, a 65-year-old woman, was also beaten. It is believed the men were gang members.
"This happened about one block from the Hun Hin police station.
"Please use caution tonight in the bar areas of Hua Hin as the stated purpose of the people responsible for the attacks is to attack foreigners. They are still at large."
Local police are sharing the video footage to help arrest those responsible.
They reportedly have two of the attackers in custody and are trying to identify two more.
Anyone who has information or who may have witnessed the incident is urged to contact officers at Hua Hin police station.
The current condition of the three victims is not yet known.
Hua Hin is a seaside resort on the Gulf of Thailand, which is popular among Bangkok residents, and according to locals, has seen a rise in crime recently.
The woman is then seen lying flat out unconscious after being kicked in the face, as her family members also lie around her
The Thai island of Koh Tao has been subject to scrutiny after six Westerners died under suspicious circumstances in the last year.
Among those were backpackers Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, whose bloodied bodies were found on a beach after being repeatedly struck with a hoe in a murder that shocked the island.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “Our staff have been in contact with the family to offer assistance, and we will remain in contact with local authorities.”
