The Syria war has already spilled into our streets, with bashings, shootings and arson as Sunnis and Shi’ites scuffle in Sydney and Melbourne.
Then there are the 15 Muslims jailed here over four big terrorist plots.
Radical preachers such as Sheik Taj El-Din al-Hilaly, imam at Lakemba mosque, Australia’s biggest, have meanwhile whipped up the hate by praising suicide bombers as “heroes”.
They have an audience: scores of angry Muslim men rioted in Sydney last year over an American video mocking their faith.
Not all the trouble has a specifically religious connection.
Imprisonment rates among the Lebanese-born are among the highest of ethnic groups and two bikie gangs — the Comancheros and Notorious — have many Lebanese members. Sydney’s Hells Angels include many ethnic Turks.
Shootings in Sydney suburbs with big Muslim populations are so common that police created a Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad.
Three Muslims, two of Lebanese background, have been jailed for planning a mass-shooting at Sydney’s Holsworthy barracks after asking senior Al Shabaab religious figures for permission.
Is it surprising that some young Muslims seem prone to calls to jihad? Take the Somali community. Many lack qualifications or good English. Their earnings are half the average. Their unemployment rate is four times the average. Their crime rate in Victoria is five times the average.
According to a Depatment of Immigration survey, after five years in Australia, 94 per cent of Afghan refugees are are on Centrelink benefits.
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