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PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHNH RUEHPB
DE RUEHBY #1628/01 2882111
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 152111Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY CANBERRA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5944
INFO RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBN/AMCONSUL MELBOURNE PRIORITY 3243
RUEHBAD/AMCONSUL PERTH PRIORITY 1768
RUEHDN/AMCONSUL SYDNEY PRIORITY 1215

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CANBERRA 001628 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP AND DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/15/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KISL PTER AS
SUBJECT: WESTERN AUSTRALIA MUSLIMS WORRY THAT MOSQUE 
SHOOTING INCIDENT MAY BE LINKED TO NATIONAL DEBATE ON 
INTEGRATION 
 
Classified By: Perth Consul General Robin K. McClellan 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  West Australian police told Perth Consul 
General privately that they have no firm leads on the 
September 29 drive-by shooting at a northern Perth mosque, in 
which a single bullet narrowly missed women and children 
among the 400 worshippers at a Friday night service.  No one 
was injured in the incident.  Federal and state officials, 
including the Prime Minister, have expressed outrage at the 
shooting and the state government has offered to help fund 
increased security measures at mosques.  Some observers have 
queried whether the shooting represents and escalation of 
anti-Muslim sentiment that may have been fueled by recent 
public debate over the perceived lack of integration of 
Muslim immigrants into Australia.    End Summary. 
 
Bullet Fired into Mosque Service 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) A shooter fired a single bullet from a stationary car 
into a second floor window of a Mosque in Mirrabooka, a 
northern Perth suburb, during evening prayers on September 
¶29.  The bullet traveled 79 meters from the curb through a 
second story window of the mosque, passing through the 
gallery in which the community's women were praying, and 
another 11 meters within the mosque to lodge in an opposite 
wall.  More than a hundred women and children were in the 
gallery, and the bullet passed between two praying women, one 
of whom is the current president of the Western Australian 
Islamic Council (Noorul Islam Society) and the principal of 
one of the campuses of Perth's Australian Islamic College. 
According to the mosque's leaders, the worshippers completed 
their service, but were very shaken by the event. 
 
¶3. (C) Several children were playing outside the mosque at 
the time of the shooting. They and two adults who were 
accompanying them witnessed the incident.  Police have 
publicly stated they believe the shot came from a 
high-powered rifle, fired from a green four-wheel drive 
vehicle.  The Imam at the mosque, a close contact of the 
Consulate General, has told us that no casing or other debris 
were recovered from the road, and that the bullet was so 
destroyed by impact with the interior mosque wall that police 
were not able to gather further information from it.  One 
police contact has told us that investigations to date 
suggest that the incident was a "one-off" target of 
opportunity shooting, but they have not yet developed any 
firm leads. 
 
Raises Concern in Muslim and General Community 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) The attack, which occurred during the Muslim fasting 
month of Ramadhan, has raised considerable fear and outrage 
in the WA Muslim community.  Mosque leaders believe the 
attack was religiously motivated.  The Mirrabooka mosque had 
been the object of previous low-level attacks, including 
graffiti and rock-throwing.  The WA state government has 
announced it will help provide funds for a security upgrade 
for the premises. 
 
¶5. (U) State and federal officials were quick to show support 
for the mosque community.  Federal Parliamentary Secretary 
for Multicultural Affairs Andrew Robb participated in a small 
October 5 fast-breaking reception at the mosque, as did the 
area's representative in the State Parliament and the head of 
the Department of Immigration's Perth office.  (The Consul 
General also attended the event.)  The state Minister for 
Citizenship and Multicultural Interests, Tony McRae, 
announced that the state government would work with police 
and local government to increase safety at all mosques. 
Prime Minister John Howard also condemned the shooting. 
 
Comment:  Incident Comes Amid National Debate over 
Integration of Muslim Immigrants 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) At least one prominent WA Muslim has commented that 
the mosque attack represents an escalation of anti-Muslim 
sentiments that have been fueled in recent months by public 
debate over the integration of immigrants into Australia. 
Media coverage of the debate has highlighted comments made by 
PM Howard that some groups of Muslim migrants in particular 
have failed to learn English and accept common "Australian" 
cultural norms, such as equal rights for women.  Similar 
concerns that Australian Muslims are being "singled out and 
 
CANBERRA 00001628  002 OF 002 
 
 
marginalized" by political leaders were aired a week later at 
an academic symposium hosted by the Centre for Muslim States 
and Society at the University of Western Australia. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Background:  The Mirrabooka mosque is one of Perth's 
most tolerant and ethnically diverse.  A substantial number 
of worshippers are originally from South Africa, but other 
ethnic communities are also represented.  The former 
president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils 
and current chairman of the federal government's Muslim 
advisory board, Dr. Ameer Ali, who recently caused a stir by 
stating that the Koran (which some Muslims believe is the 
literal word of God) should be "reinterpreted" for today's 
society, attends Mirrabooka mosque services.  (Note:  Press 
coverage of his statement occurred after the shooting, not 
before.) The Imam of the mosque, Sheikh Muhammad Agherdien, 
is also a professor at the Australian Islamic College.  He 
played a pivotal role in the successful visit earlier this 
year of Imam Yahya Hendi, a speaker sponsored by the Embassy 
and Consulate General under the Visiting Speakers' Program. 
 
MCCALLUM