Attack on Sydney church where Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was stabbed was a ‘terrorist’ attack police say teenager – alive Achi-News

Police are on alert around mosques in parts of Sydney after reports of text messages circulating encouraging the Assyrian Christian community to retaliate against Muslims.

It follows the attack on the Christian Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel while delivering a sermon at the Church of Christ the Good Shepherd in Wakeley in western Sydney.

A video of the incident quickly spread on social media and an angry mob gathered at the church demanding revenge.

The church said in a statement on Tuesday that it “denies retaliation of any kind”.

Bishop Emmanuel has a large social media following and has spoken out on a variety of issues, including the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza.

Community leaders are calling for calm after a teenager was accused of wounding a bishop and a Christian priest during a church service in the second high-profile knife attack to rock Sydney in recent days.

The 16-year-old boy was beaten by the shocked congregation at Christ the Good Shepherd Church after he allegedly stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and Father Isaac Royel during a service on Monday which was streamed online.

A video of the attack quickly spread on social media and an angry crowd engaged the police outside the church.

They hurled bricks, bottles and fence boards at the police, who temporarily barred the boy inside the church for his own safety. A number of people including police officers required hospital treatment following the hours-long riot.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged the public not to take the law into their own hands.

“We understand the distress and concerns there are in the community, especially after the tragic incident at Bondi Junction on Saturday,” Mr Albanese told reporters, referring to the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre.

“But it is not acceptable to obstruct police and injure police from doing their duty or to damage police vehicles in a way that we saw last night,” he added.

Following Monday’s attack on Bishop Mar Mari Emmanue at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Sydney, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the nation’s main domestic spy agency, and the Australian Federal Police have joined state police in a counter-terrorism task force to investigate who else could participate.

ASIO director general Mike Burgess said the investigation had yet to uncover any related threats.

“It appears to be religiously motivated, but we are continuing our lines of inquiry,” Burgess said.

“Our job is to look at individuals connected to the attacker to ensure ourselves that there is no one else in the community with a similar intention. At the moment, we have no signs of that,” added Burgess.

On the advice of ASIO, the risk of a terrorist attack in Australia is “possible.” That’s the second lowest level after “not expected” on the five-tier National Terrorism Threat Advisory System.

Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel who was stabbed during a church service streamed live from Sydney on Monday is a social media star with followers around the world, but the bearded cleric is also a divisive preacher.

Dressed in dark robes, clutching a large cross and wearing a bushy gray beard under a black robe, Emmanuel’s sermons from the Assyrian Christ of The Good Shepherd Church range from homilies on the Bible to fiery criticisms of homosexuality, vaccinations , Islam and US President Joe Biden. an election.

However, the 53-year-old bishop, who has a popular youth following on TikTok and was awarded by YouTube in 2023 for hitting 100,000 subscribers, has been the target of criticism, hate and trolling online.

Emmanuel’s popularity peaked during the COVID pandemic because his sermons were online, according to Mary Anoya, 17, whose family attends his church. She, like the other students in her high school, prefers to watch his sermons on TikTok.

“I think everyone follows him on TikTok,” the teenager said Tuesday outside the church.

“Ever since he started to become famous his words have twisted. I grew up knowing who he was, I know what kind of person he is and it’s all been taken out of context.”

Film of the stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel in Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Sydney shocked the world as it was broadcast live by the church’s YouTube channel.

Clips have since been shared across social media platforms X and Facebook, which has led to Australia’s eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, issuing a 24-hour warning to the companies responsible for their removal.

It said the film was deemed “relevant depicting gratuitous or offensive violence with a high degree of impact or detail”.

If Meta, which controls Facebook, and X do not comply, the companies could face fines, warned Ms Inman Grant.

He said: “While most mainstream social media platforms have engaged with us, I am not satisfied that this is being done to protect Australians from this most extreme and gratuitous violent material circulating online .

“That’s why I’m using my powers under the Online Safety Act to formally force them to remove it. I have given X a notice requiring them to remove this content. A legal notice will also be sent to Meta this afternoon, and further notices are likely to follow. I will not hesitate to use further graduated powers available to me if there is non-compliance.”