By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
THE Muslim secretary of the Casey Multi-faith Network has called for calm, amid fears of a backlash following the shooting death of a terrorism suspect in Endeavour Hills.
The 18-year-old man was shot dead outside the Endeavour Hills police station around 7.45pm on Tuesday night, after he stabbed a Victoria Police officer and an Australian Federal Police member.
Media reports indicate authorities have privately confirmed the man’s identity to be Numan Haider, from Endeavour Hills.
Casey Multi-faith Network Secretary Naureen Choudhry, a practising Muslim, anticipated the shooting would cause a backlash towards the broader Islamic community and called for clear-thinking.
“I really wish there was a way of conveying this isn’t the general sentiment of Muslims, that the Muslim community is generally a very patriotic and law-abiding community,” she said.
“This is really the work of one individual that creates a bad reputation for everyone.
“I would be very cautious of seeing the entire Muslim community through the same lens as we do these individuals.
“Any Muslim person who tries to take justice into their own hands is not abiding by the teachings of Islam, any such actions are not representative of the faith but of that person’s own understanding of the faith.”
Casey Multi-faith Network President Jim Reiher echoed his secretary’s sentiments, calling for solidarity in the wake of the shooting.
“We stand with our Muslim friends here in this nation, and affirm that we know they are saddened and distressed at the cruelty that is done supposedly in the name of their religion,” he said.
“It is an abhorrent misrepresentation of Islam. As Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Spiritualists, and more – we want the whole community to know that just because someone says they belong to ’such and such a religion’ – it does not mean they actually do.”
It’s understood the 18-year-old met the two police officers outside the police station before stabbing them.
The AFP office underwent surgery on Tuesday night in relation to wounds to his abdomen, neck, stomach and head.
The Victorian officer sustained cuts to his arm and will undergo surgery on Wednesday.
It’s believed the 18-year-old had been brandishing a flag outside Dandenong Plaza Shopping Centre in the lead-up to the shooting, and Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Ken Lay said it appeared to be an ISIS flag.
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