Muslim Journalist Accuses Australia Of Driving Young Muslims To Join Extremists Like ISIS

Young Muslims are reportedly being pushed into “the arms of terrorists.” A Muslim journalist based in Sydney believes the Muslim youth are better off in the United States than in Australia.

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman said Muslim youth in Australia would be less likely to be vulnerable to radicalisation if only the country was more welcoming to Muslims. He believes the Muslims in Australia will have a better chance if they are given jobs and not welfare, reports the Daily Telegraph.

The Muslim journalist, who had difficulty finding a job since his migration to the country in 2014, wrote a book entitled “Under Siege: Black Muslim Down Under.” Abdur-Rahman criticised Australia’s “cultural isolation and short-sightedness” in dealing with Muslims.

He said he understands why Muslim youth who don’t have jobs leave Australia and join the extremists in the Middle East to get paid as ISIS fighters. The 30-year-old man, who used to work for the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper, added that he could be one of the 57 Australians who fled the country and joined ISIS militants in Iraq and Syria. The Guardian reports that Muslim community leaders have been working with the youth to discourage them from joining ISIS and leave their families in Australia.

“Australia talks about giving people a fair go, but they don’t actually provide that,” said Abdur-Rahman in the book. He then went on to compare his experience in the U.S. and Australia.

He wrote that he had every “opportunity for success” in the U.S. since the country gives value to the merit of all people no matter the race or religion. However, Abdur-Rahman had a different experience when he went to Australia. He said that he felt the Australians wanted him to either be on welfare or return to where he came from.

The Muslim journalist accused Australian authorities for being more accommodating to the Sydney siege gunman Man Haron Monis who was also an educated man like Abdur-Rahman. He felt it was mind-boggling how the police had took so long to take action and “went soft” on Monis.

He revealed he was subjected to anti-Muslim sentiments from the first time he set foot in Australia. In 2012, he said he felt like he was treated as a terrorist when he went on a trip to visit his future in-laws. He added that Australian officials had interrogated him at Sydney Airport when he travelled alone.

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