From their own social media posts, it is clear that several of the young Melbourne men accused of plotting a Christmas Day terror attack have spent time at a place called the Hume Islamic Youth Centre in Coolaroo.

Despite it being linked again and again to young jihadist warriors from Melbourne, it keeps a reputation as a 'moderate' Islamic centre, primarily a place for young Muslims from the northern suburbs to meet informally. It has a gym, table tennis and pool tables, a boxing ring, a cafe and a shop. Next door in a shopping centre is another gym; nearby is Paradise Hijabs and Imran's Warehouse, a discount store.

The centre is not a place where young Muslims would as a matter of course hear firebrand clerics advocating violence against the West. But authorities believe it is a central focal point of the Melbourne community, and they know it is watched over by Sheikh Mohammed Omran​, a veteran and very senior leader of Australia's Islamic fundamentalists.

He is the highest ranked cleric in the country for the Salafi movement – Salafi being a more conservative strand of Sunni Islam, advocating a return to older and more purist traditions. Sheikh Omran also heads a Sydney Islamic Centre, ASWJ.