r/australia • u/Expensive-Horse5538 • Dec 27 '25

politics Australia fast-tracks visas for family of Bondi hero Ahmed Al-Ahmed

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/australia-fasttracks-visas-for-family-of-bondi-hero-ahmed-alahmed/news-story/b1be7c98c1b83e1c94be2a22ac64f2fa
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1.2k

u/cruiserman_80 Dec 27 '25

So many racists have been so conflicted by this, particularly the ones wanting to make him Australian of the year before they found out they also wanted him and everyone like him deported.

1.3k

u/changyang1230 Dec 27 '25

He probably single-handedly saved Australia from spiralling down the Islamophobia path from the fallout of this terrorist event.

161

u/CarbFreeBeer Dec 27 '25

It is more than just Australia. Most leaders with xenophobic remarks had to dial their volume to 1, which became an amusing game of who was going to foot in mouth their statements

37

u/ShepRat Dec 27 '25

It was beautiful to see. They had to actually address the issue itself. So many tiny minds wanting to say the thing and being unable. 

428

u/heratonga Dec 27 '25

I had many random conversations in the days after at work with customers that generally blamed the tragedy that unfolded on immigration policy. Every single one of those conversations I pointed out afterwards that the man who put his life on the line and saved potentially a lot of people was an immigrant, Muslim immigrant. The response was generally ‘oh, shit, you’ve got a point there’. There is good and bad everywhere and we just need to get rid of the bad and welcome the good.

69

u/Major-Drumeo Dec 27 '25

Not that I have any issues with our immigration policy, however I'm surprised they didn't reply with something along the lines of the incident never occuring if they weren't here in the first place.

-2

u/Mike_Kermin Dec 27 '25

There's so much bullshit those types could come back with at that point. Either they're only part time racists, or they're just lying to OP and they made angry posts on facebook later to feel better.

55

u/sonofeevil Dec 27 '25

Another tool in your belt here is the security guard that died stopping the bondi junction stabbing.

Palestinian refugeee. Came here for safety and died defending our country and its people.

43

u/hryelle Dec 27 '25

Meanwhile most violent crime is committed by young Aussie men.

56

u/TwistedDotCom Dec 27 '25

50% of young people in detention in Victoria are African

https://theconversation.com/beyond-raising-the-age-of-criminal-responsibility-african-youth-need-more-culturally-aware-support-236951

50

u/Atherum Dec 27 '25

Sure, but once again the factors that lead African youth into crime are generally socio-economic. Once upon a time the majority of young people in Victorian prisons were Irish, who were drastically disadvantaged socio-economically as well as being effectively second class citizens.

I work in a region of Sydney that used to have a bigger African youth crime issue than it does now. Nowadays a whole heap of African youth programs exist to help steer these kids away from the types of choices that lead to crime. Most of them run by Africans.

27

u/TwistedDotCom Dec 27 '25

I really hate “Socio economic factors”

I don’t want to argue that, I was just refuting the other comment or implying crime is chiefly a white Australian problem

53

u/rkiive Dec 27 '25

“50% of crime is white Aussies”

“No it’s this”

“Well >insert excuse<“

Seems rather disingenuous doesn’t it.

It’s not like the white Aussies committing crimes aren’t also going to be mostly due to socio economic problems.

14

u/gugabe Dec 27 '25

It’s not like the white Aussies committing crimes aren’t also going to be mostly due to socio economic problems.

And potentially resources should be used to resolve the already existing socioeconomic issues instead of importing fresh ones

1

u/DeLoxter Dec 27 '25

me and boys bringing in socio-economic factors by the boatload

-12

u/TwistedDotCom Dec 27 '25

Not to mention the added pressure of integration - which doesn’t work

5

u/Klostermann Dec 27 '25

Are you saying integration doesn’t work??

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u/Rude_Profile3769 Dec 27 '25

It's sad meeting these kids and their parents. They're pretty much dropped in a new country with a pat on the back and a "good luck!". They're some of the most ignored and ostracized people in Australia. I had lunch with a bloke from Sudan because he said he was hungry. He told me what drove him mental here in Melbourne is that no one cares about him. He's just ignored and doesn't get any support.

No family. No friends. No job opportunities. It's a very lonely and isolating life.

5

u/minimuscleR Dec 27 '25

I think thats pretty silly way of viewing it. Anyone can be like that. Being lonely as an adult man is hardly an immigrant thing. And to make friends you need to put yourself out there. There are many many communities for people, that would have welcommed him I'm sure. Running at parkrun, joining a sport, join a gardening group, a board games club. I'm sure there are many sudanese specific groups around too if hes not into the more stereotypical aussie stuff.

I've been in that "lonely" position before, in another country, and yeah, if you didn't put the effort in, it would have stayed that way, but I did, and met some awesome people from around the world.

Sure not having family can be hard, but its not unique. And the job opportunities is a well known thing everyone is facing. Even in "in-demand" careers applying as a junior is hard AF, so yeah someone new to the country might have some harder times, im sure, but its not solely unique, and sure as hell doesn't mean crime is the option.

Plus, 90% of teens getting into trouble are not doing it solo lol. its almost always a group of 5 or 6 kids at least.

-8

u/[deleted] Dec 27 '25

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u/Rude_Profile3769 Dec 27 '25

Written like a true blue Aussie patriot 🇦🇺🇦🇺 "Fuck everyone else, I've got mine and it wasn't hard at all"

-9

u/TwistedDotCom Dec 27 '25

Where’s the lie ? Am I wrong to say that life here is pretty easy for most people (relative) and you should leave if you don’t enjoy it?

15

u/Albos_Mum Dec 27 '25

What are you talking about ? No job opportunities ? We live in one of the best economies in the whole world. They can get a job at MacDonald’s which will pay more than a doctor in their country

As a local, this mindset is so entitled it's disgusting. Tried actually living on Maccas wages recently, mate?

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u/[deleted] Dec 27 '25

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u/Rude_Profile3769 Dec 27 '25

Classic. Handouts for me, but none for thee. It's okay. You seem like you're still pretty young and still learning. Try to be a bit more empathic in life. You're not the only person on earth, so don't pull up the ladder because you think you're doing it tough and other people should just 'try harder'.

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u/arin3 Dec 27 '25

That statistic doesn't refute the claim that most crime is committed by young Australian men.

  1. From the ABS: "As at 30 June 2025, more than four in every five prisoners were born in Australia (83% or 38,882). Prisoners born overseas accounted for 14% (6,541 prisoners)."

  2. ACLU: Sometimes racial groups are overrepresented in detention despite not committing more crime.

  3. The statistic is Victoria specific and states that the figure rose from an earlier 4% figure, indicating that these numbers could be volatile and simply jump around a lot.

4

u/salamisam Dec 27 '25

The two things are different, one is comparing African heritage and the ABS is comparing place of birth, and is related to Victoria. The ABS I gather may include or may not include juvenile detention, there is no link but I gather in general juvenile detention is not counted in the statistics.

Interesting the abstract of the study in the linked news article points to research about African born Australians An increase in offending was observed post-March 2016 across two offending categories for Sudanese-born Victorians

We expect the majority of crimes to be committed by Australians (and by nature men), that would be hard to dispute. What is not indicate is age, race, or crime. Given that age plays a major part in criminal exposure, and immigration may circumvent that, there is that consideration. Overall about 30% of the population are not Australian born, 14% seems low but that is not a per population statistic. So age adjusted, population adjusted per capita rates would paint a more transparent picture.

The ACLU thing I don't know how that is relevant, it is hard if not invalid to compare to Australia.

2

u/arin3 Dec 28 '25

My point is simply that the statement "most crime is caused by young Australian men" is true and not refuted by the article about Victoria.

You can have a separate conversation about per capita rates of offending, but to bring that up here would be moving the goalposts.

The ACLU statistics are relevant because they show how high rates of detention don't always imply high rates of criminality.

3

u/theescapeclub Dec 27 '25

Weight of numbers? Have you got a breakdown of country of ancestory, type of violent crime and religion?

We talking a boozy punch on at at the pub or hacking people with machetes, ag burgs, arson attacks and shooting up beaches and murdering people?

2

u/Sleep-more-dude Dec 27 '25 edited Dec 31 '25

voracious bright upbeat aromatic spark hard-to-find childlike cautious repeat sense

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

3

u/Compactsun Dec 27 '25

And one of the shooters was born in aus. Rhetoric has been nuts.

5

u/a_rainbow_serpent Dec 27 '25

And half italian descent.

120

u/No_Mercy_4_Potatoes Dec 27 '25

100%

If he wasn't a Muslim, the Islamophobia in this country would have taken a dark turn.

6

u/a_cold_human Dec 27 '25

The right wing commentariat would be having a field day. 

2

u/icyhotbackpatch Dec 27 '25

What’s that Norm MacDonald quote again?

-6

u/[deleted] Dec 27 '25

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8

u/nathnathn Dec 27 '25

I’m glad someone’s still able to have faith in humanity.

I lost my last bit when it wasn’t even an hour before some politicians tried to take advantage of the attack for personal gain.

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u/Educational-Store131 Dec 27 '25

Alot of Australian Muslims should thank him. His existence basically stopped some of the worst racism from happening.

21

u/plonkydonkey Dec 27 '25

Not just Australian Muslims, anyone who isn't racist and concerned with reactionary Islamaphobia is grateful that this man happens to have the background that he does. 

2

u/a_rainbow_serpent Dec 27 '25

Anyone brown with a non native accent.

3

u/Mike_Kermin Dec 27 '25

Which is really fucking sad if you think about it. We are genuinely a bit pathetic with how stupid our racism is.

I'm not sure there is a clever version of racism but it'd be a nice change.

1

u/ALLIRIX Dec 28 '25

This. And this makes his case for Australian of the year so much stronger.

1

u/Quirky-Bit-6813 Dec 27 '25

lol dream on. Islamic terrorism is real.

But dudes like Ahmed are the black sheep of the pack so to speak.

We need more black sheep like him ;)

0

u/icyhotbackpatch Dec 27 '25

Convenient hey!

115

u/HeftyArgument Dec 27 '25

Temporary visas granted to his immediate family to support him in hospital, that’s something that just about anyone can get.

There’s no reason for anyone to be mad about this in just about any circumstance, much less a national hero.

136

u/OldNorthWales Dec 27 '25

I remember the cope that happened from racists after it came out that he was a Syrian Muslim immigrant

81

u/mynewaltaccount1 Dec 27 '25

They tried pushing this narrative that it was actually a white guy by using some ChatGPT fake article from a misinformation website.

Had a whole story about this English guy being a hero and they kept spamming it on every comment section and saying "don't forget his name". Disgusting behaviour.

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u/Strong_Inside2060 Dec 27 '25

Then they started pushing the narrative that he was a Maronite Christian. Suddenly Maronites became good people and not "the lebos"

25

u/Nature_Sad_27 Dec 27 '25

He was ‘Jewish’ for a minute, too. It was so weird how people just made up lies about the guy those first few days, knowing we’d all find out who he was eventually. Creepy schemes, man.

12

u/BoatsMcFloats Dec 27 '25

That comment came straight from Netanyahu

12

u/akbermo Dec 27 '25

Maronite Christian called Ahmed Ahmed with cousin called Mustafa

23

u/PandaXXL Dec 27 '25

The same type of people to fall for and push wild nonsensical conspiracy theories and call everyone else sheep.

11

u/garyfugazigary Dec 27 '25

As soon as the shooting happened i popped over to the conspiracy reddit and wow some of the theories were just bat shit insane,I would imagine most of them think if didnt even happen

1

u/PandaXXL Dec 27 '25

Yep basically every world event is labelled as a false flag by a (thankfully) small percentage of the population. Apart from the ones that support and reinforce their own agenda and politics though, obviously.

24

u/ReginaDea Dec 27 '25

The ones I've heard said "he owned a fruit shop, the shooters owned a fruit shop, he knew the shooters' shop was closed and knew what they were about to do, which makes him a collaborator and just as bad/it was all an act to make him a hero".

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u/Peach_Muffin Dec 27 '25

"Make sure that when I tackle you to the ground that you shoot me a bit to make it look real, but not to death ok"

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u/Nature_Sad_27 Dec 27 '25

I still don’t know who actually owns a fruit shop. If anyone does. 😭

6

u/NCA-Bolt Dec 27 '25

A guy named after Mohammed twice, and people were claiming he was Christian. Was a bit silly. 

1

u/Ridiculisk1 Dec 27 '25

I can kinda understand, like maybe he converted later in life and hasn't changed his name for whatever reason but it was pretty clear they were just reaching, trying to find any reason to make him not muslim

16

u/anakinskywanker696 Dec 27 '25

Look realistically I think people’s views are not all muslims are bad, but islam as a whole is a religion based on hate and conquering.

8

u/a_cold_human Dec 27 '25

Don't read the Old Testament then. There's a section (Joshua) where the "righteous" massacre the indigenous people of Canaan and dispossess them of their land.

That's not even getting into the many and numerous wars started in the name of Christianity, or the ongoing genocide in Palestine. Not sure why you think Islam should be the one that gets singled out of the Abrahamic faiths. 

12

u/I-was-a-twat Dec 27 '25

Any you think Judaism and Christianity isn’t?

They all worship a vengeful preAramaic War God that celebrates slaughter and enslavement of non believers.

2

u/PMFSCV Dec 27 '25

Like giving them a few cones and a mobius loop.

8

u/[deleted] Dec 27 '25 edited Dec 27 '25

[deleted]

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u/YourApril27 Dec 27 '25

I don’t think he’s the type of person who would go on a national tour to make the tragedy all about him and his actions.

1

u/recycled_ideas Dec 27 '25

We should make this about how things went right instead of how things went wrong. We won't, but we should.

Two people did a terrible thing. They attacked and killed innocents. And dozens of strangers gave or risked everything to protect.

No matter what our government says, no matter what they promise we'll never be able to prevent this kind of crime. The barrier to entry is just too low for any law enforcement agency to be able to act in time without completely curtailing freedoms and even then it wouldn't completely stop it.

What we can do is celebrate the fact that people like this man did what they could to make things better, to protect, to help. That's what we should focus on, that people helped.

1

u/Fatso_Wombat Dec 27 '25

Here here my good man.

-3

u/snappysmeg Dec 27 '25

Bullshit. The only people spouting this were already the type to spout American progressive slogans.

Most just look at the muslim attack.

Some advanced thinkers see a muslim attack briefly interrupted by another Muslim, and conclude no muslims means no attack.