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Sydney siege



What is the significance of the Sydney siege flag?









Footage of hostages in a Sydney siege shows them holding up a black and white flag bearing an Islamic creed
Sydney siege: five hostages flee cafe as police provide update – live

















A black flag with white Arabic writing is held up at the window of the Lindt cafe, where hostages are being held, in this still image taken from video from Australia’s Seven Network on Monday. Photograph: Reuters TV/Reuters




Michael Safi






@safimichael





Monday 15 December 2014 04.55 EST







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One of the first acts of the gunman who seized a cafe in the heart of Sydney was to force hostages to display a black and white flag bearing the Islamic creed, or Shahada.
To non-Muslims, the flag might immediately evoke Islamic State, Jabhat Al-Nusra, the Khorosan Group, or other violent jihadi groups who have claimed the symbol in recent years.
But according to the UN Alliance of Civilisation global expert on Muslim affairs, Aftab Malik, the stylised creed is a common affirmation of faith.
“It’s merely a statement saying, ‘There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God’,” he said.
The symbol reflects one of the five pillars of Islam: an affirmation of the oneness of God and Muhammad’s status as his prophet.
Malik said groups such as Jabhat Al-Nusra draw on the symbolic power of the creed to “claim authority and authenticity before the religiously illiterate masses in a time of great uncertainty and upheaval”.
Its use in this way is not new, either. The ruling al-Saud family put the shahada on Saudi Arabia’s flag to give their nascent country religious legitimacy.
As the Middle East has fragmented, competing militant groups have scrambled to claim the symbol as a way of showing their own Islamic bonafides, and its currency has grown significantly.
Malik said the gunman would have had no trouble getting his hands on the flag he forced the hostages to display, nor does its use suggest any affiliation with a particular group.
“You can purchase it anywhere. It has no politically dominant or ideological meaning. It only has a spiritual meaning,” he said.



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more on this story














Sydney siege: Australian PM Tony Abbott warns of rise in 'terrorist chatter' - video

Australian prime minister Tony Abbott warns of a rise in 'terrorist chatter' in the aftermath of the cafe siege in Sydney



Published: 23 Dec 2014




Sydney siege: Australian PM Tony Abbott warns of rise in 'terrorist chatter' - video












Sydney siege victims Tori Johnson and Katrina Dawson mourned at memorial services

Survivors of Martin Place Lindt cafe siege join victims’ families and NSW premier, governor and police commissioner at memorial services



Published: 22 Dec 2014




Sydney siege victims Tori Johnson and Katrina Dawson mourned at memorial services












Sydney siege floral tributes to be removed before wet weather hits city

Flowers will be mulched and used in a memorial to be established in consultation with the families of the victims of the Lindt cafe attack in Martin Place



Published: 22 Dec 2014




Sydney siege floral tributes to be removed before wet weather hits city












Sydney siege: videos show gunman's wife a risk to public, say prosecutors

Amirah Droudis faces a bid to revoke her bail pending her trial over the killing of Man Haron Monis’s former wife



Published: 21 Dec 2014




Sydney siege: videos show gunman's wife a risk to public, say prosecutors














Partner of Sydney siege gunman arrives at court - video




Published: 22 Dec 2014




Partner of Sydney siege gunman arrives at court - video








Siege survivor Julie Taylor tells of heartbreak over loss of Katrina Dawson




Published: 18 Dec 2014




Siege survivor Julie Taylor tells of heartbreak over loss of Katrina Dawson








Man Haron Monis lawyers and judges receive death threats and other abuse




Published: 18 Dec 2014




Man Haron Monis lawyers and judges receive death threats and other abuse








On guns, David Leyonhjelm is neither a champion nor a villain. He's a libertarian

Eleanor Robertson




Published: 18 Dec 2014







On guns, David Leyonhjelm is neither a champion nor a villain. He's a libertarian
















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