Bondi shooter was follower of extremist preacher dubbed Sydney pro-Isis networks’ ‘spiritual leader’ - The Jewish Chronicle

One of the gunmen who killed at least 15 in an attack on a Chanukah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday was a follower of a controversial preacher identified by security services as the “spiritual leader” of the city’s pro-Islamic State networks.

Naveed Akram, 24, is under arrest in hospital after he and his father, Sajid, opened fire on the Chabad-organised gathering. Police have since confirmed that officers found an Isis-flag in his car at the scene and that the two men are believed to have pledged allegiance to the group prior to the attack.

And Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that Asio, Australia’s security service, had been aware of Naveed since 2019 after identifying his links with pro-Isis networks in Sydney.

Bondi shooter Naveed Akram (Image: X)[Missing Credit]

Security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have since reportedly told national broadcaster ABC that Asio also noted Naveed’s relationship with Wissam Haddad.

Haddad, who runs the Bankstown prayer centre and Dawah Van street preaching service in Sydney, rose to prominence for his extreme and antisemitic sermons, including labelling seventh century Jews “mischievous”, “treacherous” and “vile”.

Security officials reportedly told ABC he was mentored by notorious British Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary, who has been serving a life sentence since 2024 after becoming the first person in the UK convicted of “directing an organisation concerned with the commission of acts of terrorism”, and has “longstanding ties to Australian terrorists and foreign jihadist leaders”.

Haddad has denied this, but security sources reportedly told ABC that he is viewed by Asio as “a senior Australian jihadist leader, with longstanding involvement in [Choudary’s] ALM network”.

And, in April, a former ASIO spy who claimed to have infiltrated Haddad’s organisation told an ABC investigation that “Asio look at him as the most important jihadist, extremist preacher in Sydney”.

The operative, codenamed Marcus, claimed that Haddad had referred to Isis as “the brothers” and attempted to “copy [Choudary’s] experience into the Australian community” as the "spiritual leader" of Sydney's pro-Isis groups.

Responding to the claims, Haddad told ABC: “If I am a leader of violent extremism, why is it that people on the grapevine are saying these words, but law enforcement don't have the same information?

"Either the people who are speaking in this way know more than law enforcement, or law enforcement doesn't know what it's doing. Which of the two is it?"

He denied being part of ALM, but called both Choudary and the group’s founder, Omar Bakri, “brothers in Islam”.

“Both of them are people who are going through a struggle for speaking the truth … and have a lot of benefit for Islam,” he went on.

"If I was involved with any criminal activity or terrorist activity… I'm pretty sure we've got a better security system than reporters, and I'd be arrested.”

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Topics:

Sydney terror attack

Australia