There's now doubt as to whether it is ISIS; the flag displayed reads "There is no God but Allah" but that does not confirm ISIS, just that the culprit is Islamic.

5 of the approximately 30 hostages have been released unhurt, and with the siege now in its 13th hour, there are so far no casualties.

Terrible situation but was bound to happen eventually, especially in Sydney where it has had numerous racial confrontations.

I hope the hostages all go home safely and hope the guy gets whats coming to him.

Thing is this is just going to spark a nationwide hate of Muslims.

It's over; two hostages and the terrorist are dead.

Truly a sad day for our country.

Glad they killed the bastard. Rest in peace to the two victims.

How did they allow this man to walk the streets? Born in Iran, helped murder his ex-wife, 50 sexual assault charges... Shoulda been behind bars, executed, or deported.

Agreed, our justice system has blood on its hands for letting this savage walk the streets.

For fuck's sake, he was out on bail when he did this!

He had refugee status from Iran. Likely a Sunni muslim if that was the case. Though yeah, the mile-long rap sheet should've seen him as too risky to grant bail to.

No reason to hate individual persons for this. But I don't think anyone with a right mind can condone Islam as a state religion or any other religion that is terribly outdated. 

The best Islamic country to live in is Turkey (although that might change if Erdogan keeps fucking up), a state where church and state are seperated. The sad fact however is that in many Islamic countries state and church are not seperated. It's another sad fact that many Islamic countries are terrible places to live in. 

I often hear muslims say that "real" muslims don't kill other people. I respond to them by saying that their prophet Muhammed isn't a real muslim then because the first thing he did when he became leader of Yathrib (renamed Medina) was slaughter most of the Jewish Arab tribes that lived there. No true Scotmans fallacy... Koran and the bible are very dangerous books in the hands of religious fanatics. Books like these are terribly outdated and should have no influence on modern society. People who have no knowledge of the historical context these books were written in shouldn't be allowed to read it! But good luck banning the Koran and Bible...

I say this as a historian with a deep fascination for Islamic history and religion in general. I have a deep dislike for any monotheistic religion (as an institute) as it only promotes intolerance. Gay people were better off in Roman society 2000 years ago than in modern day Islamic world or Russia... Sad fact. 

2000 years ago Man-man sexual relations were considered the best in the Roman world. How quickly things change. We have Christianity and Islam to thank for that. 

Islamic world 7th-15th century was much better off than Christian Europe. They were even more tolerant of other religions. What happened? 

Most definitely Church and State should be two separate things. Though I am surprised to hear there is a place where Islam isnt law.

Oh dont get me started. The way they treat women is terrible, even if is part of their religion it is still shameful. Honestly if any practice of any religion goes against the law then they should get punished.

Yeah, I kept my post relatively civil because I don't feel the need to get banned over my strong convictions. :D

But the Taliban killing 130 children recently in Pakistan is just... Uhhhh, news like that pisses me off too much. Best I keep civil here like I said! 

Hahaha, yeah I understand. No need to get banned over these things.

Although it is easy to get riled up over it.