The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) has commenced a review of the listing and re-listing of two organisations as terrorist organisations under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (the Criminal Code).
The organisation that has been re-listed is Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) – an officially-recognised Islamic State (IS) affiliate that adheres to IS’s global jihadist ideology and follows an extreme interpretation of Islam which is anti-Western, promotes sectarian violence and targets those who do not agree with its interpretations as infidels and apostates. The objective of IS-KP is to establish the wilayat (province) of Khorasan as part of the global caliphate of IS. Khorasan is the historic name for the region encompassing present day Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia.
Another organisation, Jama-at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has been listed as a terrorist organisation under the Criminal Code for the first time. The listing of JNIM is intended to replace the listing of the terrorist organisation al-Murabitun, since merged into JNIM.
JNIM is a Sunni Islamist extremist organisation based in Mali and active in West Africa. Its declared aims are to incite Muslims to oppose oppression and expel foreign and non-Muslim occupying powers – including though violence – and implement Islamic governance. The group’s leader has declared JNIM’s ultimate enemy to be ‘the enemy of the Muslims from among the Jews and the Christians’, and identified France and Western countries assisting France as more immediate adversaries.
Under section 102.1A of the Criminal Code, the Committee may review listings of terrorist organisations and report its findings to each house of the Parliament within the 15 sitting day disallowance period.
Members of the public are welcome to make submissions to this review. Submissions should be provided no later than 5pm Wednesday, 25 November 2020.
