WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT TERRORISM
NEWS DESK
You may have read some pretty scary stuff in
the news recently and want to know what the deal
is. We’re here to break it down for you.DOLLY
PHOTOGRAPHYCORBIS, GETTY IMAGES, THINKSTOCK.NEXT MONTH:
Each issue, we’ll be visiting a topic in the news, breaking it down for you and explaining everything you need to know.
Do you have anything you would like us to cover specifically? Tell us by emailing dol [email protected].T
here has been some heavy information
on TV as well as the internet about what
is going on with terrorism around the
world lately. We’ve asked Lydia Shelly,
a Muslim leader and lawyer, and professor
Greg Barton, director at the Global Terrorism
Research Centre, to explain what it’s all about.What is ISIS?
You might have heard the acronym, but what
doesit mean? Also referred to as IS or ISIL,
it’s the abbreviation used for a terrorist group
known as Islamic State that has taken control
of Northern Iraq and Northern Syria. “The
group formed back in 2004 in the wake of
the US and Australia sending troops into Iraq
in 2003,” says Greg. “This presence gave
rise to many insurgent groups running wild.”
At the end of 2011, international troops were
withdrawn from Iraq and a new leader, Abu
Bakr al-Baghdadi, came to be in charge of the
new terrorist branch called IS. “Al-Baghdadi
seized the opportunity of unrest from the 2011
civil war in Syria and built his forces with foreign
fighters,” says Greg. “The IS brand is strong and
draws in hundreds of foreign fighters each month.”Are all Muslims involved?
It’s important to remember that being a Muslim
anda supporter of terrorism aren’t the same
thing. ISIS and other terrorist organisations are
small extremist groups who don’t represent the
views of the 1.6 billion Muslim people all over
the world. It’s a myth that all Muslim teenagers
are waiting in line to fight overseas. “Muslim
teens are like everyone else. They go to school,
play sport and have dreams of their future,”
says Lydia. The name ‘Islamic State’ (IS) is being
used widely right now but many Muslims haveasked the media and the government to start
using the term ‘Daesh’ – an insult to IS. Lydia
says this is to show that the violent crimes
they’re committing don’t reflect Islamic values.
So contrary to some of the media reports which
have been circulating recently, there’s not a big
line of Muslim Aussies waiting to fight overseas.
Let’s never forget how lucky we are to live in
such a diverse and multicultural country!What is Australia doing about ISIS?
The federal government works hard to ensure
thatAustralia doesn’t become a safe haven for
terrorists. Like many other countries, we have a
counter-terrorism plan in action. The Australian
Security Intellgience Organisation (ASIO), the
Australian Secret Intelligent Service (ASIS) and
the federal police have highly-trained teams who
monitor any suspicious people or activity, 24-7.Have Australian teens become involved?
At this point, it’s a small number, but continues to
grow. “IS focuses on recruiting people in their
teens and early twenties and make clever use of
social media, video and digital communications
to do so,” says Greg. “However, the process
of recruitment happens when young people
are approached by new ‘friends of friends’.
It’s falsely presented as
a fulfilment of religious
teaching, yet most
who join know little
about religion.” If
you suspect one of
yourmates is taking
steps to go to these
areas, tell your
parents, a trusted
adult or a teacher.Above: Destruction in
Kobane, Syria; anti-
terrorism protests in
France; military trucks
in Baghdad, Iraq.Where
can I get more
information?
You can call the National
Security Hotline on
1800 123 400 or visit
livingsafetogether.gov.au
or nationalsecurity.gov.au
for assistance.DOLLY
LIFE