Abdul Nacer Benbrika

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Abdul Nacer Benbrika (Arabic: عبد الناصر بن بريكة) (born about 1960), Australian Muslim activist, also known as Abu Bakr (Arabic: أبو بكر), was one of 17 men arrested in the Australian cities of Sydney and Melbourne in November 2005, and charged with membership of a terrorist organisation and of planning terrorist attacks on targets within Australia. Benbrika is alleged to be the spiritual leader of the group. Lawyers for Benbrika and the other men arrested have denied all the charges.

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[edit] Personal background

Benbrika was born in Algeria: various sources give his age as 45 or 46 as of November 2005. He was trained as an aircraft engineer. He arrived in Australia in May 1989 on a one-month visitor's permit, on which he twice gained extensions, and settled in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, an area with a large Muslim population. After the expiry of his permit in 1990 he became a prohibited non-citizen, then spent the next six years fighting through the Immigration Review Tribunal appeals process, for the right to stay. During his hearings he told the Tribunal of his "love of the Australian lifestyle".[1]

In 1992 Benbrika married a Lebanese woman who was an Australian citizen and, with whom he had six children. He was granted Australian residence in 1996 and became an Australian citizen in 1998, although he is reported to have retained his Algerian citizenship as well.

[edit] Standing in the Muslim community

Benbrika is frequently referred to as an Islamic cleric, but it is unclear whether he has undertaken any formal Islamic theological training. For a time he attended and taught at the Melbourne religious centre run by Sheikh Mohamed Omran, a Muslim cleric who leads a group called the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah Association. According to media reports, Benbrika was at one time the group's deputy leader, although Omran denies this. He later left Omran's group and formed his own, smaller group.

The Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV) says that Benbrika had no standing within the Muslim community. ICV board member Waleed Aly said Benbrika's group was "a splinter of a splinter of a splinter. Most Muslims had never heard of him until he appeared on the ABC."[1] The majority of Muslims in Melbourne are of Turkish or Albanian descent and have little sympathy with Islamic radicalism, which is usually associated with the Lebanese or other Arab Muslims in Sydney.

"You have got Mohamed Omran's group - he found that was not radical enough," Waleed Aly was quoted as saying. "So he formed his own group with a handful of young men who he calls his students. As far as I am concerned, he has no more sway over the Muslim community in Victoria than any cult leader would have over the religious communities from which they are splintered."[1] Benbrika's students included a number of those arrested along with him in November, several of whom are alleged to have undergone paramilitary training in Afghanistan or Pakistan.

[edit] Terrorism

Benbrika came to public attention when he told an ABC Radio interviewer: "Osama bin Laden, he is a great man. Osama bin Laden was a great man before 11 September, which they said he did it, until now nobody knows who did it." He was quoted as defending Muslims fighting against coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and said anyone who fought in the name of God would be forgiven their sins. "According to my religion, jihad is a part of my religion and what you have to understand is that anyone who fights for the sake of Allah, when he dies, the first drop of blood that comes from him out all his sin will be forgiven."[2]

During 2004 and 2005 Australian security agencies had Benbrika under surveillance as a possible instigator of terrorist acts. In March his passport was withdrawn on advice from the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), and ASIO agents raided his Melbourne home in June. In November, according to media reports, ASIO became convinced that Benbrika's group, and affiliated group in Sydney, was actively planning a terrorist attack. On the advice of ASIO, the Australian Parliament amended the law relating to terrorism, broadening the definition of planning a terrorist act. A few days later police raids in Sydney and Melbourne arrested Benbrika and 16 other men, one of whom was shot after allegedly opening fire on police in Sydney.

Benbrika and his fellow defendants (Shane Kent, Fadal Sayadi, Raad Ahmed, Amer Haddara, Abdulla Merhi Raad Ezzit, Hany Taha and Aimen Joud) appeared in a Melbourne magistrate's court the day after their arrest. All are of Muslim immigrant backgrounds except Kent, who is a convert. Benbrika was charged with "directing the activities of a terrorist organization."[3] He did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody until January 2006.

Government and police officials said the group was stockpiling chemicals that could have been used to make explosives. According to the Melbourne Herald Sun, the group was "plotting a terrorist spectacular on the scale of the al-Qaeda attacks on London and Madrid."[4] The Victorian Police Commissioner, Christine Nixon, said she believed the arrests, which came after 16 months of police surveillance, had "seriously disrupted the activities of a group intent on carrying out a terrorist attack." The raids were planned after new information was obtained, she said. She said that although the group had no known specific target, "We were concerned that the attack was imminent, and we believe that we have sufficient evidence that will go before the courts to show that."[5]

In an interview before his arrest, Benbrika denied that he was involved in terrorist activities. "I am not involved in anything here," he said. "I am teaching my brothers here the Koran and the Sunnah, and I am trying my best to keep myself, my family, my kids and the Muslims close to their religion." But he also said it was a "big problem" for Muslims reconciling their religion with life in Australia. "There are two laws. There is Australian law. There is Islamic law," he said.[6]

In company with the other defendants, Benbrika appeared in a Melbourne court in March 2007, under extremely strict security precautions. The proceedings of the case are subject to severe reporting restrictions in Victoria.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c "Arrested: a man apart who fought to stay in Australia", by Ian Munro with Barney Zwartz, Sydney Morning Herald, 9 November 2005
  2. ^ "Pre-dawn raids net terrorism suspects", by Tracy Bowden, 7.30 Report, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 8 November 2005
  3. ^ "Australia's Howard Says Fanatical Islam Behind Terror (Update 2)", Bloomberg, 9 November 2005
  4. ^ "Raids 'thwarted major attack'", Australian Associated Press, 8 November 2005
  5. ^ "'We have disrupted a large-scale attack'", by Ian Munro, John Silvester and Tom Allard, The Age, 9 November 2005
  6. ^ "Suspect claims ASIO surveillance unjust", by Nick McKenzie, 7.30 Report, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 4 August 2005

[edit] External links

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