Islamic groups have questioned why more serious charges have not been laid after a Brisbane mosque received a threatening voicemail that pledged to kill Muslims and burn down the building.
In a 57-second message received by Kuraby Mosque in Brisbane’s south on Monday, a man labels Muslims “terrorists” and vows to kill them.
“Listen you Muslim fucking shit, you don’t belong in fucking Australia. So what’s going to happen is I’m going to kill you fucking all,” the voicemail begins.
“This is a white man’s country and you think you can build your fucking mosques around Australia, get fucked. I’ll fucking burn them down. I’ll fucking kill all the Muslims in this world.
“You fucking goat fuckers. You terrorist pieces of shit.”
On Tuesday Queensland police said counter-terrorism detectives arrested a 30-year-old man at his home and charged him with one count of using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence.
The man was granted bail and will appear in Brisbane magistrates court on 31 October.
“There is no ongoing threat to the community,” a police spokesperson said.
Queensland Muslim groups say they are shocked that stronger charges have not been laid and that the man was released on bail.
The president of Queensland Muslims Inc, Habib Jamal, said the voicemail had distressed management, staff and volunteers at the mosque.
Jamal questioned why the voicemail’s violent threats had not been regarded as terrorism and more serious charges considered.
“This act was an act of psychological violence to our community,” Jamal said.
“There must be serious deterrence, community protections and measures to disengage persons from violent beliefs – none of this seems possible under the charge used by police.”
Jamal said the situation contrasted heavily with how young Muslims are treated by police and routinely engaged by counterterrorism authorities.
A spokesperson for the Australian Muslim Advocacy Network (AMAN) said the language used in the voicemail mirrored that of white supremacist and racist nationalist movements.
“We have documented a history of undercharging white supremacist activity across Australia over more than a decade,” an AMAN spokesperson said.
“When terrorism law is used for one community but not another, and is used to protect one community but not another, it has a devastating effect.”
