A hardline Islamic group has criticised a crackdown on alleged homegrown terror plots and claimed the raids are unjustified at a protest in Sydney.
Fifteen people were detained during 25 pre-dawn anti-terrorism raids across Sydney's west on Thursday morning. Nine people have been released from police custody and four people are facing charges.
Twenty-two-year-old Omarjan Azari faces the most serious allegation - preparing a terrorist plan involving what police allege was "random selection" of members of the public for execution.
Following the raids across 12 suburbs, a snap protest at Lakemba in Sydney's west was announced on social media.
The call for the Muslim community to "stand as one" against "government aggression" came under a banner featuring the hardline organisation Hizb Ut-Tahrir.
About 200 people gathered outside Lakemba train station, were about 10 protesters waved signs reading "terror raids cannot break the spirit of Muslims".
Much of the event was calm, with several speakers expressing concerns about the raids and the government's impending anti-terror laws.
"We're not hear to disrupt security," speaker Uthman Badar from Hizb Ut-Tahrir told the crowd.
"Muslims are as much concerned about security and peace as everyone else."
He said the raids were about creating the "hysteria" needed to scapegoat the Muslim community and weren't justified.
The crowd chanted "we reject the terror laws, they only serve American wars," before Mr Badar added that western foreign policy was responsible for terrorism.
The timing of the raids is suspicious, coming the week before anti-terror bills are due before parliament, Mr Badar added.
"We're not fools. We know what the intent with all of this is," he said. "The people that are leading this, the government and it's agencies ... the world has not seen greater terror than what they have inflicted around the world."
After a few more speeches, a young man, who claimed police punched his mother as the family's home was raided on Thursday morning, yelled at the crowd several times to "wake up."
"What are you going to do about it? Talk? Seriously? Talk?" he said.
"May Allah curse these dogs."
The crowd didn't rise to his challenge and dissolved into the cool night breeze after the demonstration finished with a prayer about 8pm.
Police earlier said they were preparing for a backlash and have launched Operation Hammerhead to crackdown on acts of retribution.
