In a chilling new development, the Islamic State terror group has explicitly urged its supporters to emulate the horrific Bondi Beach massacre, describing it as an "instruction manual" for conducting similar attacks. The call to violence appears in the group's English-language Voice of Khurasan newsletter, which has been obtained by The Australian.
Praise for Attackers and Condemnation of Critics
The seven-page feature, titled 'The Sydney Attack: The Revenge of the Oppressed Ummah', lavishes praise on alleged father-and-son shooters Sajid and Naveed Akram. It credits them with delivering a "major blow" to Jewish communities and their supporters, framing the assault as a response to perceived intellectual and cultural invasions.
"The Sydney attack was only a pebble from a mountain; we will continue to kill, by the permission of Allah, until you grow weary of burying the dead," the newsletter declares with brutal clarity. It further asserts that the attack "demonstrated to the Ummah that the path to salvation and the honor of Islam lies precisely in the way adopted by the attackers."
Targeting Jewish Communities and Celebrations
Australian terrorism analysts have linked the Bondi Beach atrocity, which claimed fifteen lives and left dozens injured, to a 2024 Islamic State speech that encouraged Muslims to transform Jewish and Christian celebrations into "bloody massacres." The newsletter reinforces this connection, explicitly celebrating the targeting of Jewish individuals.
Muslims who publicly condemned the violence have been branded "shameful" by the terrorist organization for rejecting its core doctrine that "there is no such thing as a non-combatant Kafir"—a term for non-believers. This rhetoric seeks to justify violence against civilians and isolate moderate voices within the Muslim community.
Propaganda and Incitement Materials
The newsletter includes photographs of the Akrams, whom it glorifies as "soldiers" and "brave lions," alongside images of mourners at Bondi Beach. This visual propaganda is designed to memorialize the attackers and sensationalize the tragedy, potentially inspiring copycat actions.
Dr. Levi West, a counter-terrorism expert from the Australian National University, warned that this publication represents "exactly the type of article and instructional material that underpinned the last wave of IS-inspired attacks in the West." He noted a concerning "trend line of increased attacks on Jews and targets across the West" since the Gaza conflict, emphasizing that such materials directly inspire violent acts.
Legal Proceedings and Ongoing Threat
Naveed Akram, aged 24, remains in custody facing nearly sixty criminal charges. These include fifteen counts of murder, forty counts of wounding with intent to murder, discharging a firearm in public, displaying a prohibited terrorist symbol, and placing an explosive device with intent to cause harm. Court documents allege that the perpetrators were in possession of three pipe bombs and a tennis ball bomb during the attack.
His father, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, was shot and killed by police at the scene. The newsletter's celebration of their actions underscores the persistent global threat posed by Islamic State ideology, even as the group's territorial control has diminished.
Dr. West stressed the ongoing necessity for robust counter-terrorism measures, stating, "These articles are the kinds of things that inspire people to act and are a reminder, whether we want it or not, that counter-terrorism has to be a significant aspect of what our national security posture looks like." The explicit call to use the Bondi massacre as a template signals a dangerous new phase in terrorist incitement, demanding heightened vigilance from security services worldwide.
