This is what Duncan Lewis, the head of ASIO, told Fairfax Media late last year about Islamist extremism's connection to the broader faith: "This is not about the religion other than the fact that it is being hijacked by ne'er-do-wells."

And this is what the Queensland Nationals MP George Christensen said on Facebook before the facts of the Merrylands police station attack on Thursday night were even known: "I wonder how quickly some idiot is going to inanely say this has nothing to do with Islam or talk about a religion of peace or blame those who oppose radical Islam or even Australia as a whole for marginalising some 'disaffected youth'."

He continued: "How about for once we talk about the problem at hand: the ideology of radical Islamism and its adherents and what we, as a nation, are going to do about it."

After it became clear the incident had nothing to do with Islamists, Mr Christensen said his point still stood: "We need to discuss the rise of radical Islam within Australia and the threat it poses to national security."