The imam of a Melbourne mosque allegedly linked to the suspect in the attempted hijacking of a flydubai plane has taken to social media to claim "the righteous will always be attacked" and referred to "false allegations", while not directly addressing the allegations.
In a statement released via state media last week, the United Arab Emirates attorney-general said the 29-year-old terror suspect, widely reported as Omani national Hammam Al-Hammami, started to "drift towards extremism and terrorism" while studying in Melbourne.
Mr Al-Hammami is accused of attacking his co-pilot with an axe in the skies over Saudi Arabia as they were flying a flydubai plane carrying more than 170 passengers.
Emirati authorities allege he was trying to take control of the plane to crash it into Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, in a "suicide attack".
Emirati Attorney-General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said during Mr Al-Hammami's time in Melbourne, the suspect began "reading extremist literature and following online content glorifying terrorist organisations and suicide attacks".
According to the statement, the man met individuals associated with the My Centre mosque in Broadmeadows in 2017 while studying at RMIT and that "the centre was managed by a Lebanese man known as Abu Hamza".
The mosque's leader, Samir Mohtadi, known as Abu Hamza, invoked Jesus and Mary in a social media video in which he concluded: "The best thing sometimes is not to say anything."
"Right through the ages … those who're righteous, they've always been attacked, abused, accused, killed, imprisoned — and this is the way it is," Mr Mohtadi said.
Samir Mohtadi, known as Abu Hamza, says: "The best thing sometimes is not to say anything." (ABC News: Ron Ekkel, file)
He recounted a story of Mary, known in Islam as Maryam, being accused of wrongdoing, to which he said she responded: "I swear by Allah, I'm not going to speak to anyone."
"There are circumstances, my beloved brothers and respected sisters, regardless how much you explain yourself to people, they're fixated with their ideas and that's it; you can't change them," Mr Mohtadi said.
"So the best thing sometimes is not to say anything.
"They're going to continue accusing you … making false accusations."
He also said worshipping God, rather than defending oneself, was a better use of one's time.
The ABC does not suggest that Mr Mohtadi or My Centre radicalised Mr Al-Hammami or were otherwise connected to the flydubai incident; simply that the authorities in the UAE have raised the connection.
Mr Mohtadi and My Centre, which is run by the Islamic Information & Services Network of Australasia (IISNA), were contacted for comment.
RMIT University has confirmed Mr Al-Hammami studied engineering there but did not successfully complete his degree.
Mr Al Shamsi, the Emirati attorney-general, said during the interrogation of Mr Al-Hammami it emerged he had been inspired by the September 11 terror attacks.
"[He] also said that he had prepared himself both psychologically and physically to carry out the plot by intensifying his exposure to material promoting terrorism and training in boxing under a private coach," the news agency reported.
Last week, the Australian Federal Police confirmed it had launched an investigation into Mr Al-Hammami's time in Australia.
Islamic Council of Victoria president Mohamed Mohideen told the ABC he condemned "all forms of extremism".