This isn’t just about homophobia. It’s about Islamism

Sydney. Paris. Brussels. And now Orlando. We know there will be others. How many more innocent people have to die before Western political leaders have the courage openly to make the connection between Islam and terror attacks?

During the attack on the Orlando gay nightclub in which 50 people died, suspected gunman Omar Mateen called 911 and pledged allegiance to Islamic State.

But Mateen’s father, Mir Seddique, insists the attack, which was the worst mass shooting in US history, had nothing to do with religion. Seddique told NBC News that his son had become angered after seeing two men kissing in Miami several months ago.

Even in his statement to the nation, President Obama seemed to think the massacre had more to do with homophobia than with Islamism.

Obama described the nightclub as a place of “empowerment where people come together to raise awareness, speak their minds and advocate for their civil rights.”

But the Orlando slaying was not just an assault on the civil rights of LGBQTI people: it was a brazen attack on the civil rights of every citizen in living freely in every open, liberal democracy on earth.

Global security firm G4S has confirmed that suspected Florida gunman Omar Mateen had been one of its employees since 2007. According to G4S, which takes on public contracts and has worked with the US government, Mateen was fully trained and had firearms licenses.

G4S can hardly be blamed. The company was just adhering to its own diversity policies and, like any other business, is quite right to employ people from all religious and cultural backgrounds – including Muslims.

But Mateen’s training and experience – combined with his radicalized religious sensibilities – meant that he was ready and prepared to launch his deadly terror attack in the name of Islam.

Here in Australia, the ongoing inquest into the Sydney Lindt café siege, in which two of the hostages held by gunman Man Haron Monis died, is beginning to disclose just how unprepared our police and security services were for such an attack on Australian soil.

And some are still arguing that Monis’ actions had nothing to do with Islam or terrorism. But Monis can no more be described simply as a mentally ill person frustrated with the justice system than Mateen can be described as an offended heterosexual male.

Both men were armed; both had prepared; both killed; and both did so declaring they were acting in the name of Islamic State.

Australians were stunned as they woke to the tragic news from Florida. We will be praying for those slain in Orlando over the weekend, and for the families and friends mourning the deaths of 49 innocent people.

But we also need to pray for our own country, for courageous political leaders and for vigilant policing in our communities. And we must also pray for our Muslim friends and neighbours, the vast majority of whom deplore violence.

But Islamic radicalization – especially of our young people – remains a pressing problem. Barely a week goes by without an arrest somewhere of a teenager planning an attack on a specific target.

The Orlando massacre touches us deeply. And it reminds us that we must not take for granted the freedom that all Australians – regardless of ethnicity, sexual orientation, or creed – enjoy to live their lives however they wish.

But if we truly cherish that freedom, each of us has a duty to affirm our Aussie values, to prevent the radicalization of our youth, and to denounce murder in the name of any god.

Peter Kurti is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies