Morrison attends mosque open day in Lakemba

Morrison had no concerns that Australian Muslims making the religious pilgrimage to Mecca would continue on to Syria and Iraq

October 25, 2014

(Translation of this article appears in Arabic section)

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has used his visit to Lakemba Mosque as part of the National Mosque Open Day to condemn the actions of the latest Australian jihadist to join terrorist group Islamic State.

Speaking from the steps of Lakemba Mosque on Saturday, the minister described the case of Abdullah Elmir, a teenager who is believed to be fighting with IS in Syria, as a "terribly sad and tragic tale".

Elmir, a 17-year-old who ran away from his Bankstown family home in June, surfaced in a chilling Islamic State propaganda video on Monday.

Dressed in military gear, holding a rifle, standing among several dozen fellow jihadists, Elmir issued a direct threat to Prime Minister Tony Abbott:

"To the leaders, to Obama, to Tony Abbott, I say this: these weapons that we have, these soldiers, we will not stop fighting."

Mr Morrison said Elmir had "fallen victim to a barbaric and brutal portrayal of his own religion".

"That young man may not see out the conflict at all," he said.

The minister said his thoughts were with Elmir's family, and he drew a connection between community integration days such as the National Mosque Open Day and combating extremism within the Islamic community

"They must be completely devastated, as I know many in this community are, by seeing their young people taken up in this," he said.

"Initiatives like today are about supporting this community to get the right and positive message out to their young people, and to the broader community, about what Islam is about."

The minister said he had no concerns about the possibility that Australian Muslims making the religious pilgrimage to Mecca would continue on to Syria and Iraq.