Bondi shooter Naveed Akram’s Islamic State. Al Madina Dawah links revealed

Bondi Beach gunman Naveed Akram came on the radar of counter-terrorism authorities in 2019 after preaching with a group linked to a religious center once linked to the Islamic State cell. Researchers are now examining this as the root cause of his radicalization.

Naveed, 24, and his father Sajid, 50, attacked a crowd of Jewish families at Bondi Beach with high-powered firearms on Sunday, killing 15 people and wounding dozens more.

While Sajid died in police firing, Naveed remained in a coma in the hospital and is expected to survive.

Multiple sources with knowledge of the investigation into the massacre have confirmed that Naveed first came to the attention of authorities around the time a cell of ISIS associates was discovered in Sydney’s west.

Several young people have been arrested, including Isaac Al Matari, the self-appointed commander of ISIS in Australia who was planning to carry out a terror attack in Sydney’s CBD.

Sources say Naveed moved in similar circles as El Matari and other men charged in the investigation, but was not considered dangerous enough to warrant criminal charges.

Since their arrest, Naveed has been spotted preaching on the streets of Sydney with an outreach program called Dawah Van, affiliated with Al Madina Dawah in Bankstown.

Street preaching and Al Matari’s links to the ISIS cell put him on ASIO’s radar, sources said on condition of anonymity.