From Indian news outlet WION and the Telegraph
Anthony Albanese was chased out of Australia’s largest mosque by Muslims voicing anger over his stance on Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
The Australian prime minister was called a “putrid dog” and a “genocide supporter”, referring to Israel’s killing of Palestinians following an attack by Hamas terrorists in 2023.
The confrontation with the prime minister at Lakemba Mosque, in Sydney’s southwest, on Friday came as the community marked Eid, the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
Lebanese Muslim Association (LMA) refused to apologise for the confrontation. Instead, they defended their decision to invite the Prime Minister, stating that they brought him their specifically to face the community’s “growing alarm and concern.
“We do not open our doors for appearances,” the LMA stated, confirming they wanted the PM to hear the anger directly rather than speaking about Muslims “from a distance.”
The Eid al-Fitr Ambush
What was supposed to be a standard political photo-op turned into a massive public humiliation. On Friday morning (March 20), Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke attended Eid al-Fitr prayers at Lakemba Mosque, Australia’s largest mosque, in western Sydney. Roughly 15 minutes into the proceedings, the diplomatic facade shattered as the crowd turned directly against the nation’s top leaders.
According to a report by ABC News, as a mosque leader attempted to read a statement panning Australia’s involvement in the Middle East, demonstrators hijacked the event. Worshippers began loudly booing Albanese and Burke, shouting “Disgrace!” and “Shame!” Videos flooding social media show congregants actively demanding the Prime Minister’s removal, repeatedly chanting “Get out of here!” and labeling both men “genocide supporters” for backing Israel’s military campaigns.
Lebanese Muslim Association (LMA) secretary Gamel Kheir, desperately tried to calm the 30,000-strong crowd, pleading, “It is Eid. It is a joyful day. . . Respect the place you’re in,”
Security rushed Mr Albanese into the mosque’s administrative offices. He was then ushered out through a rear exit as his motorcade departed to cries of “shame on you” and the slur “Alba-tizi”, a derogatory Arabic play on his surname referencing the buttocks.
While politicians traditionally give speeches at the event, mosque organisers had demanded Mr Albanese simply attend and listen this year, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
At a press conference later that afternoon, a visibly defensive Albanese attempted to downplay the humiliation . . . brushed off the protesters as just “a couple of hecklers in a crowd of 30,000.” Crucially, Albanese deflected the anger away from Gaza, claiming without evidence that the hecklers were actually just extremists angry that his government had recently outlawed the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir.
The group has long maintained a vocal presence in Sydney’s west, but the Australian government’s move to follow the British ban this month makes membership a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
