Government alert on rocker's book choice

Henry Rollins

American hard rocker and political activist Henry Rollins says a fellow passenger on his flight out of Auckland reported him to Australian anti-terrorism authorities for reading a scholarly work on the rise of militant Islam.

Rollins, who flew to Melbourne after performing at Auckland's Big Day Out on January 20, described the experience in a blog on his website.

Rollins wrote that he received a letter from an Australian Government worker informing him that the passenger sitting next to him during the flight reported him to a national security hotline.

The book, Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia, was written by New York Times columnist Ahmed Rashid. It examines how extreme poverty and religious suppression in the areas surrounding Afghanistan have created a breeding ground for militant Islam.

Rollins wrote that while touring the series of Big Day Out shows across Australia, he was told by a "nice woman" who worked "in one of those Government areas that deals with anti-terrorism matters" that he had been dobbed in.

She told him her department received a lot of letters "submitted by lunatics".

- NZPA