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January 16th, 2014 
David Schulberg DAVID MARK: The young Australian man killed in Syria along with his wife was a quiet and gentle soul, according to those who knew him, but also had links with people involved in Al Qaeda’s battle against the Assad regime.
The Australian Government is still trying to confirm the deaths of Yusuf Ali and Amira Karroum, but the ABC has learnt Mr Ali was born by the name Tyler Casey.
He was raised a Christian in the seaside town of Redcliffe, north of Brisbane, but in his late teens converted to Islam and moved to Sydney.
It was there that police allege Yusuf Ali came into contact with a man who’s now facing charges of helping him and a number of other Australian men fight in Syria.
The National Reporting Team’s Matt Wordsworth has more.
MATT WORDSWORTH: Yusuf Ali has joined a growing list of Australians who’ve travelled to Syria to fight against the Assad regime and a growing list of those who’ve also met their death.
The 22-year-old, born Tyler Casey, is believed to have been shot along with his wife Amira in the city of Aleppo.
The couple was raised in Queensland, although Mr Ali spent a number of years in the United States.
Those who knew him say he was loving and gentle man, raised a devout Christian.
One source says that it was when he returned from the United States in his late teens that he converted to Islam.
After that, he travelled to Sydney, and his Facebook posts show a passionate yet extreme faith.
He wrote, “Jihad divides the hypocrites and the true believers.”
According to court documents filed by the Australian Federal Police, Mr Ali flew to Syria sometime between June and August last year, intending to fight in Syria.
Another Facebook post gives a chilling prediction of his fate. On August 20th he said, “To my beautiful wife, may Allah keep you stronge (sic) inshallah I’ll meet u again if not in this life (the) next. I love you!!”
The court documents relate to Sydney man Hamdi Al Qudsi, who now faces charges of not only aiding Mr Ali in his travel to Syria, but six other Australian men.
The Federal Police allege Mr Al Qudsi has links to the banned terrorist organisation Jabhat al-Nusra, which is affiliated with Al Qaeda. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail.
It’s difficult to know how many Australians have gone to Syria to fight. Some estimates put the number at more than 100.
Ahmad Malas is a community worker in Sydney with the Lebanese Muslim Association.
You’ve had experience in this area. Tell me, what motivates somebody to want to travel to another country to fight?
AHMAD MALAS: Well a lot of the people, especially if we’re talking about the Muslim community, are seeing the news, watching clips on YouTube, and after seeing all the atrocities and the oppression being committed against certain people, in this case, Syria, people feel compelled to actually go and do something about that.
So, even though they may not have a direct link to Syria – for example, they may not have family and friends there – because it’s a Muslim land and the majority of people are Muslim, they will feel the need to actually go and support those people there.
MATT WORDSWORTH: And do you come across people who are considering action like this frequently?
AHMAD MALAS: No, not at all. These are actually a minority in the community. However, the majority of the Muslim community, the mainstream, condemn certain actions and do not talk about this publicly and frequently.
MATT WORDSWORTH: What’s the association doing in this field to try to stop people taking up arms overseas?
AHMAD MALAS: The imams and the sheikhs from Lakemba Mosque do not promote going to Syria and fighting and there are many programs that are being delivered at the moment within the LMA to attack all extreme views, if you like, and then help address any possible issue that might come out of those extreme views or ideas.
DAVID MARK: Ahmad Malas from the Lebanese Muslim Association ending that report from Matt Wordsworth.
Source Article from http://friendsofsyria.co/2014/01/16/australian-converted-to-islam-after-returning-from-usa/
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