Australian Islamic group calls for revision of national terrorism laws, as sixth teenager charged

400 counter terrorism police, 13 raids and six teenagers charged with planning or preparing to commit a terrorist act. We will allege that these individuals adhere to a religiously motivated, violent extremist ideology. Now an alliance of Islamic groups is calling for an immediate inquiry into the processes that led to the raids. The lack of evidence pointing to a concrete threat or plan among these youths, as noted by senior police officials, calls into question. Both the necessity and the manner of these operations. The groups also singled out ASIO head Mike Burgess, accusing him of using charged language. Sunni violent extremism poses the greatest religiously motivated extremist threat in Australia. They want the term religiously motivated terrorism removed from Australia’s terrorism laws. The presumption that terrorism is inherently tied to religion is not only inaccurate but also harmful, ASIO says. The term religiously motivated violent extremism. Allows it to accurately categorise the security threat based on its primary motivation, saying ASIO does not investigate people because of their religious views. ASIO is concerned with actual or potential violence. The premier agrees. The truth of the matter is that we do need to confront religious extremism. Some of it manifests itself in terrorism, and it’s important that there’s a comprehensive police and security response, a sensitive debate with no easy answer.