AARON PATRICK: Paying respect to Islam, Anthony Albanese receives abuse, not praise
AARON PATRICK: The Prime Minister’s tense visit to Sydney’s biggest mosque on Friday morning was a sign of deep hostility towards the Government from some Muslims.
For a political leader used to deference, the abuse, open hostility and minor violence that greeted Anthony Albanese at Sydney’s Lakemba Mosque on Friday morning must have been deeply confronting.
The Prime Minister sat, shoeless, with Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke as members of the congregation yelled abuse during what was meant to be a demonstration of respect to the Muslim community for the celebration marking the conclusion of the holy month of Ramadan.
As Lebanese Muslim Association secretary Gamel Kheir tried to explain why the invitation had been extended, someone called out: “Genocide supporters! Get him out of here!”
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“Respect the place you’re in,” Mr Kheir said. “This is a mosque.”
“You’ve got to respect us,” someone replied. “You called him honourable. He’s responsible for the deaths of 1 million people! One million!”
Calls of allahu akbar — god is great — could be heard on footage captured on phones and by an ABC camera crew.
As the Prime Minister’s bodyguards watched, standing but not moving, a man dressed in black approached the crowded area where Mr Albanese and Mr Burke were sitting on carpets.
He held up a phone and began yelling and gesticulating. Footage recorded on what appears to be the mosque’s web am isn’t clear enough to make out what he said, but a man in a jacket quickly pulled him away. They both appeared to fall to the ground.
The NSW police later said they ordered one man to leave.
Afterwards, the Lebanese Association and Government sources played down the significance of the heckling. But has Mr Albanese ever been abused at a church, synagogue or temple?
Wary of mosques
Lakemba Mosque is located in Watson, an electorate with a large Muslim population and deep ties to the Labor Party.
In the past, Mr Albanese has privately conceded that he was wary of visiting mosques because of latent hostility over the Government’s initial support for Israel’s counter-invasion of the Gaza Strip.
Today’s ugly prime ministerial encounter demonstrates that elements of Australia’s Muslim community do not, and may never, give the Government credit for recognising a Palestinian state, resuming funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East - which Israel accuses of helping Hamas, appointing an envoy for Islamophobia or banning right-wing Israeli politicians.
The abuse demonstrates the difficulty for the Government of trying to placate some 800,000 Australian Muslims over their anger about the wars in the Middle East.
Many carry a profound sense of injustice fuelled by the belief that Israel provoked the war in Gaza; Hamas did not attack Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023; and the sexual violence reported during the Hamas attack was Jewish propaganda.
Often their news comes from the Al Jazeera Media Network, a resolutely anti-Israel broadcaster based in Doha, social media algorithms and private chat groups.
The outlook
That hostility, and feelings of being treated as second-class citizens, may get worse.
The Royal Commission into Anti-Semitism and Social Cohesion, which Mr Albanese never wanted, will focus on the treatment of Jews.
Muslims — seeing the Jewish community’s greater economic success — may feel they’re the true victims.
There is also an expectation among senior members of the Jewish community that Israel will invade and occupy Lebanon up to the Litani River, which is 20km to 30km from the border.
The objective of the incursion would be to remove the Hezbollah terrorist group from the border. It would further stir angst among Muslims in Australia.
Before Mr Albanese’s visit, Mr Kheir explained in an ABC interview at the mosque that worshippers would use Eid al-Fitr, the end-of-Ramadan celebration, to wish for the safety of relatives affecting by fighting with Israel.
“No more than ever, people will be sending prayers to their families in Lebanon and Gaza and everywhere else in the Middle East,” he said.
If you’re a Muslim or a Jew, the war in the Middle East is never far away.
