Two Muslims covered with the Syrian opposition flag pray
Two Muslims covered with the Syrian opposition flag pray during a rally against the governments of Syria and Egypt in central Sydney September 1, 2013. Hundreds attended a rally in protest against governments in Syria and Egypt. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz

Numan Haider, the 18-year-old terror suspect who was killed after fatally stabbing two police officers, might have been influenced by sheiks.

According to authorities, one Noongar Aborigine from Perth and a radical Bosnia preacher brainwashed the teenager to join extremist activities. Haider, who had earlier been just another regular teenager, transformed into a terrorist apparently after attending lectures of Junaid Thorne and Harun Mehicevic. The preacher gave lectures at the Al-Furqan Islamic Centre. Haider attended Mehicevic's lecture in Springvale. Thorne confirmed that he had met the teenager multiple times in Melbourne.

The Al-Furqan centre, on the other hand, wanted to claim that it had no influence on the teenager and his terrorist activities. It released an official statement which said that the Endeavour Hills stabbing incident had shocked the institute. "We would like to express our deep shock at the tragic events of Endeavour Hills," it said, "Al-Furqan would also like to emphasise that both its centre and its president, Harun Mehicevic, are in no way involved or connected to this incident."

According to Herald Sun, the interpretation of Islam which speakers at the centre preach is radical. Mehicevic, one of the chief speakers there, is a prominent figure among his followers. The speakers at the centre are known for their hostile ideologies against the Western countries. They allegedly support extremist jihadist activities as well. Many people from the centre were friends with Haider. The radical teenager reportedly attended the lectures of Thorne in the latter part of 2013 and earlier in 2014 as well. Thorne, according to reports, is a staunch supporter of the Islamic State, the Middle Eastern militant group which Australia is conducting a mission against at the moment.

According to The Age, the Islamic centre recruits "alienated young men" from Melbourne to train them for jihad. A Muslim leader said that the centre would discourage Islamic people from listening to music and watching television. He also said that it would preach women to cover their faces. "They change their minds. They change the culture of these young people. We are concerned about our community and it is dangerous for Australia," said the Muslim leader.

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

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