This is our second guest post from LDS_Aussie.
Terrorism, in varying forms, has been around for thousands of years. The rise of modern terrorism is one of the main areas of concern for police and security agencies. The need for large armies, equipment, funding and legitimate power bases is largely not required for terrorists to wreak absolute havoc. Think of the economic, political and social upheaval created by a relatively small number of terrorists (19 involved in the actual incident) on 11 September 2001 in the United States.
On the 15 December 2014 about 9:45am a lone armed male entered the Lindt Chocolate Café in Martin Place in the centre of Sydney. He brandished a sawnoff shotgun and took 17 people hostage. Hostages were forced to act as human shields by placing them in windows, including a female with multiple sclerosis, whom the male used as his own personal shield. A number of hostages were forced also to hold a flag with Islamic references. Some demands were made including demands on media outlets to broadcast certain messages. Several hostages escaped during the ordeal, which lasted until about 2:00am the following morning. Police stormed the café immediately after a few more hostages escaped and shots were heard inside. The male was shot by police and two hostages perished in the incident. Another female and a police officer were also shot by the male and received injuries.
Terrorism is not new in Australia. We have had our fair share as the following list attests.
- 1972 bombing of the Yugoslav General Trade Agency in Sydney;
- 1978 bombing of the Sydney Hilton hotel during a Commonwealth Heads of Government Regional Meeting;
- 1980 assassination of the Turkish Consul-General in Sydney;
- 1982 bombing of the Israeli Consulate and the Hakoah Club in Sydney;
- 1986 bombing of the Russell Street Police Station in Melbourne; and
- 1986 bombing at the Turkish Consulate in Melbourne.
(Terrorist attacks not on Australian soil – Australians have been killed and injured in overseas terrorist attacks such as the 9/11 attacks and the Bali bombings)
However, our social and political environment is most certainly nothing like the West Bank or parts of Northern Ireland. We are a generally peaceful society and the idea of violence, guns and large civil unrest is largely foreign to us.
The “Martin Place Siege” as it has come to be known, has had a massive impact on us. Hearts have been broken for the victims and their families. Outpouring of good will towards them can be seen at the location itself, on social media, radio and TV. We have galvanised as a community. Members of the community have even broken into applause when police officers walk into fast food restaurants to get lunch.
We have not had a 9/11 or a London bombing here – by comparison this incident is small. But it has now put us on the map. Unlike other countries that have suffered such atrocities, we have little to rely on. For the modern generations of Australians, this is uncharted territory
We are still very raw. Our perceptions about the incident will ebb and flow over the course of the coming weeks and months. We have and will change – and in what ways, we do not know. Will hatred and fear, love and acceptance or suspicion and discrimination dominate our future consciousness?
Now is a time of feeling pain and of healing. In time, perspective may shed its light and provide a clarity that is not yet possible for many of us.
Our innocence, or perhaps a part of it, has been lost.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ, for me, provides perspective. He Himself was subject to brutal acts of violence stemming from political and religious fear. Interestingly, by so suffering, he provides ways to succor us when acts of barbarity are committed in our cities and towns. He is there and he loves us.
What aspects of the gospel do you rely on when you witness such incidents?
Have you been touched by an act of terrorism?
What provided the most comfort to you?
People need to re-examine the theory of it being a tiny minority doing all this. 1 percent of 1 billion Muslims is 10 million peopke. That is a lot of people that can wreak havoc on the planet.
Winifred, that is exactly the kind of response to these events that terrifies me. It promotes fear and panic and over estimates the severity of the threat. Worse, it tempts us to consider anything unknown to be a threat.
There is little solace to be had in these situations. I grieve for the innocents that are killed. I grieve for the innocents who survived. I grieve for the perpetrators who have been deceived into thinking this is a godly cause and plead with Christ to teach and forgive them.
I worry about our responses to these events. Will we show an outpouring of love? Or will we let our love wax cold?
My usual response to such events is that I must proceed with my life and do my best to improve the lives of those around me. If I give into fear, the perpetrators win. And so I turn to the scriptures to learn about compassion and charity
Yes as Christians we need to love our neighbour but also be aware of ideas and values foreign to us and those that attack basic civil and religious liberalism.We need not forget the Saudi’s spend some 90 billion dollars world wide on their form of Islam, Wahhabism. Yes the Saudi’ s have financed courses in the US and Australian Universities , quite a number.
Bridget Gabriel makes I think a valid point , yes, the majority of people are peaceful and good BUT these are not the problem it is the others . If as Winifred said 1% of Muslims are radical it is a lot. The US government has I believe identified some 28 or so Islamic terrorist organisations world wide.
If I understand the Book of Mormon when it writes about ” secret combinations” the choice was either to teach them or oppose them .
For me I will continue to love my Muslim family doctor who has been a wonderful and Devoted career for our family and be aware and do all I can to keep a vigilant eye on my community and nation.
I personally feel that LDS_Aussie is presenting a skewed view here, and certainly not one representative of the majority of non-Sydneyite Australians. Many are hurting, but to me they are hurting for the wrong thing.
In my experience, here on the West coast, most are expressing outrage and disbelief not at the events themselves but rather at the media’s portrayal of this as an extremist Islamic terrorist act.
The perpetrator was not affiliated with any known terrorist groups; in fact an analysis of his close history shows that he had more in common with the extremes of the Men’s Rights movement than the extremes of Islam. He had a history of domestic violence, skewed views of his constitutional and international rights, had recently suffered the trauma of neither winning nor losing a High Court case (in a strange draw of judge’s rulings) and was in possession of a high-powered weapon despite clear evidence that he shouldn’t have been.
There were no secret combinations at play, unless it be in his own twisted and confused mind. There was no terror, unless it be the fear of the unknown. There was only a man: angry, confused, abandoned. Rather than portraying him for what he actually was (monstrous as that actually was), our media painted him as an embodiment of a fear of the unknown, of the risk of loss, or of discomfort. In doing so, they led us down the garden path.
I, along with Benjamin, will not be found fearing because of this act, but rather will use it as a reminder to pay a little more attention, to show a little more love, to those around me who may be suffering in invisible ways. Who may be searching for peace not as the world gives, but of soul and mind.
And I wil use it as a reminder to not allow those who put profit first to guide our emotional state.
Benjamin
these people are out for blood and could care less what you and I think.
Daniel, thanks for sharing that perspective. It certainly is the human tendency to try to lump all threats into something that makes sense, that can be more easily identified and therefore avoided. It’s much scarier that a rogue individual with mental problems and an ax to grind can kill innocents, but of course, that’s the nature of the planet.
A few years ago, I was talking with a Polish friend who escaped and defected to the US in the 1980s. He said he struggled to forgive people for what had happened in his country, for the injustices, and he also struggled to understand why. I don’t think it’s right or wrong or moral or immoral, but apparently this is the nature of mortal life. People can choose to kill others or oppress them or rob them of their human rights and lives, and we are just here doing our best to eke out some happiness and meaning until it ends, however it ends.
We aren’t satisfied with the limits of mortality. We try to force more out of it than that. We want a meaningful death. We want to be able to say goodbye to loved ones. We want things to happen for a reason or higher purpose. We want justice and to protect the innocents. We want to punish evil. But ultimately, we are here for a time and then we die, whatever the circumstances.
As we run low on states to war with (manufactured) terrorism provides almost never ending war profiteering.
…we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military–industrial complex. President/General Eisenhower
Daniel – I also appreciate your thoughts from a non-Sydney perspective – and also that regarding the role of the media. It would, no doubt, affect many people in different ways – which is the whole point of this post. I personally have connections with three people who were in the Bali blasts, two of whom died. It is my hope that people who read this might offer insights like yours for us all to gain a fuller appreciation of how such acts might affect us and what we can do in response.
I just wanted to further offer additional information on a few of your thoughts.
Man Monis was indeed all those things you mentioned. However in addition he preached hate and sent letters to the families of dead Australian soldiers and in such letters called them murderers and pigs.
In addition, his actions did meet the Australian Legal definition of a terrorist act:
“an act or threat, intended to advance a political, ideological or religious cause by coercing or intimidating an Australian or foreign government or the public. This action must cause serious harm to people or property, create a serious risk to the health and safety to the public, or seriously disrupt trade, critical infrastructure or electronic systems”.
Monis held hostage 17 people, flew a flag with Islamic connections, requested an ISIS flag, demanded to speak with the Prime Minister, crippled the city, transport and other systems, killed two people and injured several others. This action also caused security fears on an international stage. Was he an ISIS member, was he associated with Al-Qa’ida was he working for someone else…it doesn’t really matter. He used violence to advance his warped political/religious ideology and, at law, that qualifies for an act of terrorism. Did the media beat it up – yes.
My hope for this post was to make comment on the significance of this incident and to elicit responses like those in the second part of your comment that provide insight as to how we respond to such incidents.
I saw the event somewhere between Daniel 4 any LDS Aussie. I saw him as a deranged individual, who believed he represented others but didn’t.
I was very pleased to see Muslim clerics and Jewish Rabbis together with the mourners, at the site. Mosques in Brisbane have also been open to pray for the victims.
My other observation was that I wondered whether swat type militarised police, do not increase the level/expectation of violence, at such a scene?
I am not anti police, 2 members of my immediate family are federal police.
A member of our ward has been arrested for murder but so far it has not been published that he is a Mormon, or a terrorist.
I don’t think this should be classified as terrorism for all the reasons Daniel mentioned. Even if he had certain ideological views, he was acting alone, and that makes all the difference.
I think terrorism must be defined as a collective act, not a lone crazy person. It’s an act of war, typically carried out by desperate groups who lack the power and prestige of a millitary-industrial-complex at their back. Its an act of insurgency.
Terrorism seeks defined ends. It seeks power and leverage. It is carried out by religious believers who are as clinically sane as you and I. It may not seem rational to outsiders, who can sense its untennability, but to them it seems perfectly rational and realistic. It gets people’s attention. It engages the enemy.
This guy had no sense behind his actions. They were fundamentally narcissistic and deranged.
Winifred, you are an idiot.
Nate got exactly what I was trying to say: yes terror was a by-product but that does not make it terrorism, whatever wide slather definition the (rather poorly written) legislation gives it. However as LDS_Aussie states, his intent was to open a discussion on how we deal with the issue.
Firstly, we need to remember that war is not a one sided affair with good on one side and evil on the other. I don’t know about your ward but we’ve been getting a lot of airtime of the WW2 Christmas truce this year and what that means for us should we ever find ourselves in combat with any enemy we are told to believe is evil incarnate. The truth is always much more nuanced and lies somewhere between each sides propaganda.
Secondly, for those who have passed we must take solace in our belief in a life hereafter and that mortality is but a fleeting, momentary experience.
Lastly, we must remember it is our duty to mourn with those who mourn, but also to lead others to peace by our example and or testimony.
brjones, in all fairness, if that’s the most eloquent response you can muster, you may need to place yourself in the same plane as your accused.
Thanks, Benjamin. I’ll consider that.
Br jones
always pompous and self assured
some things never change
This isn’t true at all. I actually have a very low opinion of myself.
I lived in Argentina during the era of “los desaparecidos” and now live within walking distance of the site of the Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 adults and children and wounded over 600 others.
What I have learned: your first response of horror and anger and grief is automatic. Your second response is your choice and takes time to consciously learn and make a part of yourself.
The people I’ve known who have coped the best have been those who already have developed lives based on principles of 1) seeking to aid others rather than seeking to explain, and 2) who have developed self-mastery and also the practice of dealing calmly and thoughtfully with what is going on right now in their lives rather than having fairness or a return to what life was like before as a prerequisite to finding any peace.
The grief never completely goes away. That’s part of being human. But watching the aftermath of those two events, one drawn out over years and the other done in a split second, I’ve learned that it’s more likely that the initial grief, anger and fear will stop ruling you if those principles I mentioned are part of who you are.