Australian Muslim Says Sorry for Sydney Siege

An Australian Muslim has apologised for the hostage drama in Sydney. Though he did not know Sydney siege hostage-taker Man Haron Monis, he felt compelled to say sorry on behalf of all Muslims in the country for the work of one man.

Reddit user adorkable95 took to the social networking site to express his thoughts on the recent tragedy at the Lindt Café in Sydney, wherein an Iranian-born Australian man of Islam faith took hostages of the staff and customers in the place. The redditor did not know Monis personally or perhaps did not even have anything in common with him except that they were both Muslims. And for that, adorkable95 felt that he owes his fellow Australians an apology.

“I know some people will say I don’t have to apologise but I feel it’s necessary to speak out against all evil, especially when the perpetrators are supposedly Muslims. Australia is my home, I’ve never ever been to any other country and I’ll always want what’s best for Australia. This crap is unacceptable and if I could magically rescue the hostages and put an end to it all, I would,” he wrote.

“So I’m really sorry for the actions of these people and just know that we are sick and tired of these sh---- people just as much as you are. We are probably even more fed up with them,” he continued, adding that every single Muslim that he knows is also disgusted by Monis’ actions, vowing to stand with other Aussies against the atrocities.

He noted that if he were born in the same country as his parents, he would have met a fatal end much earlier. He did not mention where his parents were born.

“Please don’t forget to keep the victims and their families in your thoughts and/or prayers. They need all the support they can get!” he concluded.

Although he has prepared himself for the backlash he thought he would get, his fellow Australian Redditors had nothing but compassion for him. As the commenters said, adorkable95 did not owe anyone an apology for the actions of a lone man, regardless if they share the same faith. They did, however, commend him for speaking up on behalf of other Muslims who also condemn the attack.

“As an Australian I just wanted to say I am sorry that you feel the need to say sorry,” a reply on his post reads.

As the Reddit user said, he isn’t the only Muslim who was disgusted by the tragedy in Martin Place. Top Muslim cleric in Australia Ibrahim Abu Mohamed has released a statement, saying the Muslim community was “devastated” by Sydney siege.

“The Grand Mufti and the Australian National Imams Council condemn this criminal act unequivocally and reiterate that such actions are denounced in part and in whole in Islam,” he said in a statement.

Lebanese Muslim Association president Samier Dandan also revealed that Australian Muslim leaders were conducting an online meeting to determine if they could help with resolving the tragedy.

Meanwhile, non-Muslim Australians want to make sure their Muslim brothers and sisters don’t feel compelled to hide in public because of their religion. The hashtag #IllRideWithYou has trended online since the Sydney Siege took place from Monday to early Tuesday morning.

Read: #IllRideWithYou: Tessa Kum and Rachael Jacobs, The Women Behind the Movement