Facebook removes page of preacher using social media to back jihadists Muslim cleric Musa Cerantonio, the third most liked person by western jihadists in Syria, called for assassination of US politicians Picture of Musa Cerantonio from his Facebook page. It is understood Cerantonios Facebook posts violated the sites community standards on violence. Photograph: Facebook Shiv Malik and Michael Safi Thursday 17 April 2014 08.07 BST A radical Australian preacher revealed to be using social media to encourage acts of terrorism has had his Facebook page taken down following a Guardian investigation. The California company confirmed it took action to remove the page following revelations that Musa Cerantonio, an Islamic preacher from west Melbourne, was urging some 12,000 subscribers to assassinate US politicians. A second US radical is believed to have deleted his own Twitter account after the Guardian and the BBC reported that he had twice praised the deaths of British Muslim fighters killed in Syria on the microblogging site. Born into an Italian family as Robert Cerantonio, the Melbourne preacher was found to be the third most liked person by western jihadists in Syria. The discovery came from the ground-breaking work of Kings College academics who analysed the social media habits of 190 western jihadists fighting in Syria against president Bashar al-Assad. In one post from 16 December, Cerantonio told his followers: If we see that Muslims are being killed by the tyrant leaders of the USA then we must first stop them with our hands [ie by force]. This means that we should stop them by fighting them, by assassinating their oppressive leaders, by weakening their offensive capabilities etc … This is not something that is beyond us at all, he wrote. Having attended a Catholic primary school, Cerantonio says he converted to Islam around 2002, at age 17, after a visit to the Vatican left him disillusioned with Catholicism. He was particularly disgusted by Michelangelos artwork on the roof of the Sistine Chapel – calling it idol worship. Sources within the Australian Muslim community say Cerantonios faith journey took him to Cairo, where he became involved with a literalist interpretation of Islam. His status as a convert also won him a spot on Islamic satellite TV stations, and a global audience. When in Australia, Cerantonio frequented classes and events at the Ummah United centre south of Brisbane and at a now-closed bookstore in Bankstown, Sydney. Cerantonio said he currently lived in the Philippines and Egypt and only rarely returned to his native country. Asked if he wanted sharia, or Islamic, law to be established in Australia, he told the Guardian: Sharia law is to be established in the lands of Islam, it is a law for Muslims, not for non-Muslims … My advice to any Muslims in Australia is to migrate to Muslim lands, especially if they wish to establish sharia and live in a land ruled by Allahs law. It is understood Cerantonios Facebook posts violated the sites community standards on violence. The company, which says it works with law enforcement in the event of an urgent threat, added that the networking site was a place where beliefs, however abhorrent, could be shared.
Posted on: Thu, 17 Apr 2014 08:21:11 +0000
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