Mohammed Junaid Thorne facts for kids
Mohammed Junaid Thorne is an Australian Islamic speaker from Perth, Western Australia. He has Aboriginal heritage. Thorne is known for his strong opinions on various topics.
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Early Life and Background
Junaid Thorne was born to an Aboriginal father and a Malaysian Muslim mother. When he was five years old, he moved to Saudi Arabia with his mother and stepfather. He lived and studied there until he was 23, learning a lot about Islamic culture and the Arabic language.
In July 2013, Thorne was sent back to Western Australia from Saudi Arabia. This happened after he protested about his older brother, Shayden, being in prison there. Shayden Thorne was later involved in a case in Australia and was released in March 2020. In November 2014, Junaid Thorne moved from Perth to Sydney.
Legal Issues and Travel
Junaid Thorne has been on a government watchlist because of things he posted online and said in talks. These posts and talks seemed to support certain Islamic groups.
In January 2015, police searched Thorne's home in Bass Hill, New South Wales. He was asked to go to court in Perth. When he traveled between Sydney and Perth, he and two other people used different names. They all admitted to this. In June 2015, Thorne was sentenced to jail time for using a false name and fake ID to travel. He was later released on bail while he appealed his sentence. In August 2015, his sentence was set at eight months, with a minimum of four months to be served.
Community Activities
Thorne has been an active Islamic speaker in Australia. He has given many talks at Islamic centers.
He has mentioned that a teenager named Numan Haider, who was involved in a serious incident in 2014, had attended some of his talks. Thorne said he had met the teenager several times.
Understanding Millatu Ibrahim
Junaid Thorne is part of a group called Millatu Ibrahim in Perth. This group has been banned in Germany. Thorne explains that "Millatu Ibrahim" means "to follow the path of Ibrahim," who is an important prophet in the Islamic faith. Thorne has said that the Australian and German groups are not connected, even though they share the same name.
Spiritual Healing: Ruqyah
After moving to Sydney in 2014, Thorne became interested in an Islamic form of spiritual healing called ruqyah. He worked with another healer in Sydney, Abu Hamza, and they gave talks about spirits in Islam, known as jinn.
His Opinions
Junaid Thorne has shared his opinions on several topics:
- On Islamic State: He has said that if he fully supported them, he would get into trouble. He also said that saying he doesn't support them at all would be untrue. He explained that he might agree with them on some things but disagree on others.
- On Democracy and Sharia: Thorne believes that Muslims generally prefer Sharia law as a system of government over democracy. He has said that he personally would like Sharia law to be used, but he doesn't want to force it on anyone. He also mentioned that he would happily move to an Islamic state where Sharia law was in place, as many Muslims see it as a solution to problems.
- On the Charlie Hebdo Shooting: Thorne was criticized in the media for comments he made about the attack on the French magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris.
Online Trolling Incident
In 2015, Junaid Thorne was tricked by an online troll. This person created a fake online account pretending to be Thorne. The troll also made fake accounts that seemed to be supporters of certain groups and made them interact with the fake Thorne account. The troll then sent screenshots of these fake conversations to journalists. Some newspapers published these fake interactions, thinking they were real. This made it seem like Thorne's followers had strong negative feelings towards non-Muslim Australians.
See also
- Islam in Australia
- Islamic organisations in Australia
