One of the suspects involved in the recent Hanukkah attack at Bondi Beach is thought to have received religious education at an Islamic center in Australia, which is associated with other Muslim organizations in the area.
Naveed Akram, 24, is accused of firing at a large gathering of Jews during their Hanukkah celebrations. A social media post from February 2022, now deleted, featured him, highlighting his accomplishment in mastering “all the rules of Tajweed” at the Al Murad Institute near Sydney.
In the post, Adam Ismail, the director of the institute, expressed pride in Akram’s achievements: “Another dear student Naveed Akram passed the Iqra book and Tajweed this morning and did all the Tajweed rules perfectly.” They were photographed together, with Akram proudly displaying his certificate.
As reported by ABC, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO)—which is similar to the FBI—had previously looked into Akram in 2019 regarding possible terrorism links.
ASIO has also indicated that both Akram and his father, Sajid, who is 50, had expressed allegiance to ISIS before the attack, with sources stating that an ISIS flag was discovered in their vehicle.
The Al Murad Institute has removed both its website and social media profiles since the incident.
Ismail mentioned that he lost touch with Akram in early 2022, claiming that the attack forced him and his family to flee due to threats they received. “I am devastated to see the victims of Bondi,” he said in an interview with a newspaper.
Akram, along with his father, reportedly attacked the beach with shotguns and bolt-action rifles, resulting in at least 15 fatalities, most of whom were Jewish individuals aged between 10 and 87, and injuring around 40 others during the horrifying event.
The chaos erupted during the Hanukkah by the Sea event, which had about 1,000 attendees. Witnesses described hearing screams amid the gunfire, which lasted roughly 10 minutes before a local vendor, Ahmed al-Ahemed, intervened by subduing Akram.
The second assailant was killed in a confrontation with police, while Akram, who sustained injuries from police gunfire, remains in the hospital.
This incident marks the deadliest mass shooting in Australia since the tragic Port Arthur massacre in 1996.
