Melbourne Imam Denies Links to Flydubai Hijacking Suspect

Samir Motadi, an imam at a mosque in Melbourne known as Abu Hamza, has issued a strong denial of any connection to the co-pilot suspected of attempting to hijack a Flydubai flight. In a social media video released Sunday evening, Motadi invoked Jesus and Mary, stating, "Sometimes the best thing is not to say anything. Throughout history... the righteous have always been attacked and harassed, accused, killed, and imprisoned, and that's how things are." He addressed Christian listeners in Australia, referencing the story of Mary, known in Islam as Mariam, who was accused of wrongdoing and responded, "I swear by God, I will not speak to anyone." The UAE's Attorney General stated last week that the 29-year-old suspect, identified in reports as Omani citizen Hamad Al-Hammami, began to "lean towards extremism and terrorism" while studying in Melbourne. Al-Hammami is accused of attacking the co-pilot with an axe during a Flydubai flight with over 170 passengers, intending to crash the plane into Ben Gurion Airport in a suicide attack. According to the Attorney General, Hamad Saif Al-Shamsi, Al-Hammami engaged with extremist literature and online content glorifying terrorist organizations and suicide attacks during his time in Melbourne. The suspect reportedly contacted individuals associated with the MyCentre mosque in Broadmeadows in 2017 while studying at RMIT University. The mosque is managed by a Lebanese man known as Abu Hamza. Motadi, also known as Abu Hamza, has explicitly rejected any link between MyCentre and Al-Hammami.