This article is republished with thanks to The James Macpherson Report. Originally titled, “Albanese Says the Quiet Part Out Loud”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has conceded the Bondi jihadis were “driven by an extreme perversion of Islam”. And just like that — after years of verbal gymnastics, semantic tap-dancing, and ideological denial — we’re allowed to say the word Islam in the same sentence as terrorism. Progress comes in strange ways. He told journalists…

“Tragically, in 2025, we live in a dangerous time and these two evil people have engaged in this act of anti-Semitism driven by ideology, [an] extreme perversion of Islam that has resulted in these catastrophic consequences.

“The clear advice that we have at this point is that there is no evidence of collusion. There’s no evidence that these people were part of a cell.”

He was quick to reassure us, of course. No collusion. No cell. Lone wolves. Always lone wolves. Radicalised by no one, influenced by nothing, emerging mysteriously from the ideological ether like murderous mushrooms after rain. And if you believe that, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.

Anyway, here’s the good news… Anthony Albanese has now said out loud what we have always known to be true — terror attacks are driven by an ‘ideology’ and that ideology has a name. Islam.

Yes, yes — before the outrage hotline lights up — the PM hastened to add that it was an “extreme perversion” of Islam. But still. Islam is now officially on the table. As it should be. And as it should have been at least as far back as 1988. Does no-one remember Salman Rushdie?

For too long we have been unable to talk about Islam for fear of being branded anti-Muslim or Islamophobic. Those days must now be over. We need to talk about Islam. And if the PM is now openly saying that an “extreme perversion of Islam” drove two men to shoot dead 15 Australians in cold blood, then if we will not discuss Islam now, when will we?

Albanese: A Trusted Source on Islamic Theology?

So let me start with the obvious question… is the killing of Jews a perversion of Islam? Or is it consistent with the life of Muhammad, the teachings of Islamic scripture, the curriculum of Islamic education systems, the stated goals of Islamic regimes, and the long and bloody history of Islam itself? If you need more than 30 seconds to work through that, it may be time to relocate from beneath your rock.

Yet, I’m curious… On what basis does the Prime Minster say that the killers were driven, not just by a perversion of Islam but an extreme perversion? Has he suddenly become a scholar of Islamic theology? A historian of Muhammad’s campaigns? A jurist of Sharia? How exactly does Albanese distinguish between “true Islam” and the version that manifested itself in Bondi on Saturday night?

I suspect his sole qualification is desperate hope. But if this was, as he insists, a perversion of Islam, then the next question is unavoidable.

Muslim Community Responsibility

What is the Muslim community now going to do about it? How will mosques be reformed? How will Islamic schools be reformed? How will doctrines that justify murder be confronted — openly, publicly, and relentlessly? If a “perversion of Islam” has resulted in the massacre of 15 Australians, then the responsibility to address that perversion rests squarely with the community from which it arose.

And no, chanting “Islam is a religion of peace” won’t cut it. No one is buying that anymore — not after 1,300 years of evidence to the contrary. There is, undeniably, a small but lethal subset of Muslims in this country who do not believe Islam is a religion of peace. And they didn’t get that idea out of thin air.

Islamic organisations should be acting with urgency to dismantle the beliefs that allow Jews to be murdered “in the service of Allah”. In addition, Islamic leaders should immediately stop the feigned tears every time their religion is criticised, critiqued and called out.

Grow up. People are dead. A forensic team is right now scouring blades of grass in a Bondi park for body parts. So spare me any tears that the real victim here is Islam. How, exactly, is a supposed perversion corrected if discussion itself is forbidden? No more cries of “Islamophobia” when Islam is scrutinised.

If you don’t want your ideology criticised, stop allowing it to be so easily — and so frequently — used to justify murder. That said, I won’t be holding my breath. Because the truth may be far more confronting than the Prime Minister is prepared to entertain.

What if what happened in Bondi was not an extreme perversion of Islam? What if it was, in fact, a faithful expression of Islam as taught by Muhammad, recorded in its scriptures, and practiced throughout its history? What then? That is the question our leaders dare not ask — because answering it would require a level of moral clarity and intestinal fortitude that modern Western politics simply does not possess.