‘Melbourne Extremist Does Not Represent Muslims In Australia:’ Opposition Leader

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten refuses to believe that the Melbourne extremist represents the Muslim community in Australia. The Melbourne man has been seen in a photograph with Syrian extremists.

Suhan Rahman, a 23-year-old university student from Roxburgh, has appealed Australian people to "let the heads fly and blood flow" in an online post. The post says that Australians should not feel humiliated if they cannot be in Syria. According to Shorten, it is difficult to understand why an Australian can be fascinated by "crazy murderous causes" in the Middle East. Herald Sun quotes Shorten, "We haven't had any briefing from security agencies, but I've seen what you have in the media and it's dreadful," and "I don't think this man represents anywhere near the rest of the Australian Muslim community." Shorten said that Liberal and Labor politicians were working together on fighting terror. Meanwhile, the Australian Federal Police counterterrorism squad spoke to Rahman's family. Apparently his father said that the family was ashamed of Rahman.

Rahman asked young Aussies to "spill blood." He has also posted pictures where he is seen with an AK-47. The photograph comes with a caption that his "old government" never gave him presents like that. Rahman also refers to the recent terror attack in Paris and appreciated those who were responsible for the Charlie Hebdo massacre. Rahman uses his Facebook page to express his political intentions explicitly. He says that the "war" will be brought home day by day. In another picture, he is seen with Mohamed Elomar, the Sydney extremist who posted photos in 2014, where he was holding severed heads of Syrian government soldiers. There were photographed in a part of Syria controlled by Islamic State militant forces.

According to Ninemsn, it is only recently that Rahman started sharing posts which reflect extremist ideologies. He posted about online gaming and lyrics earlier in 2011. He also shared photos from local parties back then. However, he apparently started sharing other kind of posts from May 2014. In one of the posts, he writes that people evolve over time. "All men will get their turns in this earth," he writes. He claims that the one whom people may have thought to be weak can be "really strong."

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@IBTimes.com.au