The shooting of a religious leader outside a Sydney prayer hall suggests Islamic State is having an impact in Australia, Prime Minister Tony Abbott says.
Rasoul Al Mousawi was shot in the face and shoulder with pellets while standing with his family outside the gated Husainiyah Nabi Akram building in Greenacre early on Monday morning.
The Shia Muslim centre allegedly received threats from IS supporters hours before the attack.
"What we have seen here is an apocalyptic millennial extremist ideology which is now rampaging across Syria and Iraq ... and it has echoes here in Australia," Mr Abbott said on Tuesday.
"Obviously we saw the attack on two policemen in Victoria a month or so back.
"It seems there is an ISIL death cult influence on this shooting in Sydney.
"The important thing is for all of us to absolutely reject this death cult.
"It's against God, it's against Islam and it's against our common humanity."
Organisers of a march of Shia Muslims in Sydney's CBD on Tuesday condemned the shooting.
An estimated 2000 people took part in the annual march from Hyde Park to the Royal Botanic Gardens to mark the anniversary of the murder of Imam Hussain.
He was killed alongside his family in Iraq 1300 years ago because he refused to pledge allegiance to the tyrant of his time.
One of the speakers, Basim Alansari, said the rally was not just to commemorate Hussain but reflect on recent events.
"We are seeing Islam being hijacked again by ISIL but we are here to show that we are part of Australia and we share Australian values," he said.
Hussain Abbas, who also took part in the rally, said the Shia Muslim community wanted to show it would not be intimidated.
The Ashura Australia procession has been taking place in Sydney for the past 11 years.
It's understood Mr Mousawi, 47, underwent surgery and remains in a stable condition in Liverpool Hospital.
