At 9:45 a.m. on December 15, a gunman walked into a Lindt chocolate cafe in downtown Sydney and initiated a 16-hour hostage situation that locked down the heart of the city and resulted in the deaths of two hostages.

Initial images of the attack showed Lindt staff and patrons pressed against the cafe windows with their arms raised. Two held aloft a black flag with white Arabic writing scrawled across it. Another woman appeared to gesture, sliding a finger along her neck. Behind them, a man wearing a bandana stalked back and forth.

Seventeen hours of tense negotiations ended when police resorted to a frontal assault into the shop after hearing gunfire within. The tragic finale was the end of Australia’s most publicized terrorist attack since the wide-scale police raids on potential Muslim terrorists in western Sydney earlier this year. Along with the publicity came the debating.

Denial

With the uncertainty and media-fueled hype, one commonality was peddled by the media and political elites alike. The assailant, Man Haron Monis, was a) insane and b) acting completely alone and independent of any religious or political group.

This denial constitutes the greatest flaw in Australia’s handling of the situation. It also highlights just how bound up in politically correct behavior the nation is—to the point where a terrorist can no longer be called a terrorist.

It is understandable that the police commissioner, prime minister and other authorities would not state the political motivations behind the attack until it was resolved, but now that the dust has settled the only thing we hear is denial.

The media is quick to portray Monis as a deranged lunatic with nothing to lose. The government has quickly fallen back on the “lone wolf” statement. Monis was apparently not affiliated with any particular group, though it is confirmed that he was Muslim.

Following the initial reports, statements were issued by Australia’s police commissioner, the prime minister, the governor general and even the United States ambassador. All the statements had similar themes. There were expressions of concern and sympathy for the hostages, confidence in Australian police forces, and firm reassurance that the assailant was likely—and later confirmed to be—acting alone.

Immigration

No doubt the government is dreading any mention of the “I” word. But looking at the simple facts, there is no way to deny that this attack is anything but bound to Australia and its immigration crisis.

Let’s look at the facts of the situation, starting with what we saw in the attack itself. Monis was easily able to walk into Martin Place—the very heart of Sydney—and take hostages in a district surrounded by banks, media headquarters and government buildings. This was a terrorist attack orchestrated by a Muslim that has been living in the country since 1996.

The simple fact that he held up the black and white shahada flag—the statement of belief of all Muslims—would prove the political motivations behind the attack. There is no denying that religion—the Muslim religion—was involved. Monis was a Muslim. More than that, he was a cleric and self-proclaimed healer. He was well known to the police. He was known for sending hate-soaked letters to the families of servicemen who had died in the line of duty in Afghanistan. He was also apparently an accomplice in the murder of his own wife! He and a friend stabbed her to death and burned her in an apartment block.

It is shocking that this man was able to walk freely in Australia’s largest city; more shocking yet, he was allowed to live here for years!

Monis came to Australia from Iran as a refugee in 1996. Yet in the last 18 years, the man failed utterly to assimilate or become part of the Australian society. Instead, he became radicalized.

What about other scenarios—when young, born-and-reared Australians go off to fight for terrorist groups like the Islamic State? Evidence suggests that immigrant communities are growing that refuse to meld into Australian society. They are not assimilating, but rather establishing entrenched foreign-thinking and even hostile enclaves right within Australia’s borders.

Intensifying Extremism

From these communities, greater numbers of Australian Muslims are heading to Syria to join the Islamic State. Only weeks ago we saw the first girls running away to become the wives of jihadists. As we saw with Monis, some Muslims don’t leave to fight, but remain and take on a more radical mindset. Try as the media do to label Monis a lone wolf, he is neither more nor less radical than those who go to fight overseas. And just because his flag didn’t say “Islamic State” or “Jabat al Nusra” doesn’t make him a solo act.

Monis is merely the thin edge of a wedge driving deep into the heart of Australian society. Anyone who walks through Sydney can see it. Mosques are rising on the cityscape. On the street, hijabs and Muslim paraphernalia abound. While few Muslims would act as Monis did, it is from this demographic that Australia’s terrorist threats stem.

And that pool is big. As the Muslim population increases in Australia, and immigrants refuse to assimilate, how many others are willing to bring terror to Australia?

Strangers Within the Gates

When the mainstream media reported this situation, their analyses were atrocious. No one was willing to address the problems associated with immigration.

Australia’s open-door policies to immigrants have been going on for decades, and now we must face the consequences. And it will hurt—not only Australia, but it will hurt all nations dealing with similar issues: Britain, America, Canada, Israel. All these have their own battles with immigration. All have seen terrorist attacks carried out in the past year by citizens.

Australia faces a very dangerous situation. Here is a quote from late Trumpet columnist Ron Fraser, taken from our free e-book Australia—Where to Now?:

Australia’s greatest challenge is not so much keeping extremist imams and their terrorist protégés from migrating into the country. The most significant terrorist potential lies within the hearts of extremist Islamic Australian citizens already embedded within that continent—the sons of earlier migrants, who speak with an Aussie twang but who will never assimilate into Australian society. Of such is the stranger within Australia’s gates mentioned in Deuteronomy 28:43!Match that prophecy with Deuteronomy 32:25, and it is clear to those with a perspective on the biblical identity of Australia, and on the prophecies for these times in which we now live, that the future does not bode well for Australia in respect of this terrorist threat. If you want to know why, turn to Leviticus 26 and read verses 14-16. That’s not a message for the faint-hearted. Nevertheless, it’s the binding reality of our day.

Australia has historically suffered from the “she’ll be right” attitude. A distinct lack of concern when the issue at hand is somewhere out of sight and out of mind. Well now the issue has exploded in our faces. Assimilation of immigrants is failing and we have radicals in our community—whether we choose to acknowledge it or not.

Keep watching, because immigration will not be dealt with as quickly as a hostage scenario. And if we aren’t careful, it will prove more deadly yet.