“They were absolving themselves. They had no contrition for their own failures. Many of us felt spoken down to and belittled,” the attendee said.
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Police allegedly left the meeting without taking any questions or engaging in any conversation with the attendees, leaving many of the assembled leaders offended.
The source said the leaders had pushed back at the idea that they should monitor their own community, and that they were at fault for the situation.
“They just dropped their grenade and left. And they implied that if we don’t comply, we’ll be at fault for not helping curb extremism.”
A police spokesman said he was “unable to confirm the information”.
Muslim leaders said they raised concerns about radical cleric Haddad – also known as Abu Ousayd – who has over many years cultivated a network of followers, some of whom have been convicted of terrorist offences.
“The community has been saying for over 10 years, ‘Why haven’t you arrested this individual?’ He is destroying lots of these young men,” he said.
When asked about the meeting, a NSW Police spokesman said the officer who reportedly made the comment had since retired. He said the force was “unable to substantiate the claims”.
Another senior member of the Muslim community, speaking on the condition of anonymity so they could speak freely without damaging relationships, said NSW Police had a strong relationship with Sydney’s Islamic community while Andrew Scipione was commissioner until 2017, but that it had declined since.
“The Lindt Cafe siege, the community played a good role,” the person said. “Even before then. You develop a friendship at a time of peace because you need it at a time of crisis.”
Naveed Akram pictured in 2019.Credit: Street Dawah Movement
The stronger relationship was now with the Australian Federal Police. “One hundred times better,” the leader said.
The leader says the Muslim community does not spy on itself, but rather works with police to protect its young people from harmful influences.
“It’s for our own safety, for our own kids’ protection,” the leader said. “For police to do their job properly, and to understand what’s in the community, they need to maintain channels of dialogue. That’s how I’ve always seen it.”
At a press conference held on Friday by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett, the government announced a national gun buyback scheme in response to the Bondi shooting.
Barrett commented on the prevalence of antisemitic incidents in Australia, describing the current rate as “unbelievable”.
“The AFP has 21 current investigations and 10 individuals already been charged. It is just unbelievable. As a country, we should reflect on those statistics,” she said.
Later on Friday, seven men who had been arrested as part of a dramatic counterterror raid were released less than 24 hours after being apprehended, telling reporters they had been targeted because they were Muslim.
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Heavily armed tactical forces swooped on the men and pulled them from two cars in Liverpool on Thursday afternoon, arresting them on the street and hauling them into custody.
But the men were free to go after Lanyon said the justification for their ongoing detention “no longer exists”.
The men hugged one another as they emerged from Liverpool police station. They said they were in Sydney on holiday, adding they believed the entire ordeal was a “misunderstanding”.