An armed gunman has taken up to 13 people hostage inside a chocolate shop in Sydney while forcing two people to hold what appears to be a black flag with white Arabic writing on it, Sky News Australia reports.
Television footage shot through the store’s windows showed several people with their arms in the air and hands pressed against the glass. The footage showed two people inside the Lindt chocolate shop holding up what appeared to be an Islamic flag.
Zain Ali, the head of the Islamic Studies Research Unit at the University of Auckland, told The Associated Press that it was difficult to read the message because media images showed only the lower part of the flag. But he believed it was the Shahada, or declaration of faith, largely because a black flag with white writing in a contemporary context often contains that message. He said he could make out the word “Muhammad.”
Ali said the Shahada translates as “There is no deity of worship except Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” It is considered the first pillar of Islam’s five pillars of faith, and has been used by groups like Al Qaeda and Islamic State but wasn’t invented by them, Ali said.
No it was invented by Islam’s original terrorist, Mohammed.
The interesting question will be whether this latest Islamic Jihadist came to Australia as a refugee. He appears to be African, in his 20s or 30s, which means he might be the child of refugees, or even another convert to Islam. The attacks in the UK and Canada were carried out by converts. It’s quite possible that this fellow has joined that murderous club.
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