- Radicalised supporters are using online chat rooms to find vulnerable people
- These individuals no longer have to be of the Muslim faith – they can be secular
- According to Dr Robyn Torok this latest move shows they can infiltrate anyone
- One of the most prominent Australians to join ISIS is paediatrician Dr Jihad
Islamic State is stepping up a ‘White Australia’ policy of recruiting non-Muslim extremists who can leave the country without raising the suspicion of anti-terror police, an expert has warned.
Radicalised supporters of the terror group are posting lists of potential targets and hoping ‘white Australians’ will take up the cause and attack the western world, the Herald Sun reports.
Dr Robyn Torok from the Edith Cowan University’s Security Research Institute said while they are predominantly focused on Muslims or their supporters, the group is open to extorting non-religious Aussies too.
Radicalised supporters of the terror group are writing into online message groups with lists of potential locations they hope to target
‘They are looking for white Australians who are disgruntled or anti-social or who have violent tendencies or who are questioning their faith,’ Dr Torok said.
‘And they are still wanting to use second and third generation aggrieved Muslims. They are going to continue using that in a dynamic way. They want to convey to us that you are not as safe as you think. We can use anyone.’
Recruiters are examining school and parent chat rooms to find individuals who are isolated or vulnerable, discover their interests and then speak to them about radical discourses.
BEFORE: Perth-born paediatrician Dr Jihad left the country to join ISIS
AFTER: He appears in multiple propaganda videos for the terror group
‘Now it is more specific towards secular people who are unhappy with the way the world is or are questioning the world and building a group of (online) people around them who can pick them off,’ Dr Torok said.
One of the most prominent Australians who became the ‘poster boy’ for the regime is Perth-born paediatrician Dr Jihad.
He has appeared in multiple propaganda videos for the caliphate and is alleged to have a wife and one-year-old child in Syria.
But since the falling of Raqqa, where he worked in the public hospital, it’s not clear where Dr Jihad is currently based or whether he is still alive.
But since the falling of Raqqa, where he worked in the public hospital, it’s not clear where Dr Jihad is currently based or whether he is still alive