“Why should we call (a) pig a hero?”
In what could be coined as a prime example of emotional terrorism, a leading Muslim cleric in Australia pled guilty to multiple counts of sending abhorrent and hate-filled letters to the grieving families of Aussie soldiers killed in action fighting terrorism in Afghanistan, as reported by The Daily Telegraph (of Sydney, Australia) on Aug 7, 2013.
Bestowing upon himself the Islamic title of Sheik, Iranian-born Man Haron Monis of the Sydney suburb of Liverpool pled guilty to 12 counts of using the country’s postal service in a “menacing, harassing and offensive way” from 2007 until 2009 when he sent a number of letters and at least one video to the families of Diggers (Australian slang for members of the nation’s armed forces) who were killed while fighting Taliban and al-Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan.
Rubbing salt into the emotional wounds of eight Aussie Army families isn’t Monis’s only hate crime. He also sent hateful and insulting letters to the family of an Australian Trade Commission employee killed in a terrorist bombing in Jakarta, Indonesia.
His confederate in crime, Amirah Droudis, 34, also pled guilty to one count of aiding and abetting when she appeared in a video sent to the widow of Lance Corporal Jason Marks saying “we don’t honour Hitler’s soldiers so we shouldn’t honour Australian soldiers.”
Attempting to legitimize his actions, the self-anointed sheik likened his handiwork to sending “flowers of condolence.” Examples of his insults include:
- Hand delivering letters to Bree Till, the widow of Sergeant Brett Till, at her husband’s funeral in March 2009. In one letter, Monis called her husband “a criminal.”
- To the father of Private Gregory Sher, Monis wrote: “Why should we call (a) pig a hero?”
- Early in his history of sending hate mail, local police paid a call upon Monis and informed him to cease his corresponding to John Worsley, the father of fallen Private Luke Worsley. Monis told the police: “I can write letters to whoever I like.”
