Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese posted photos to social media of his Lakemba Mosque visit. Photo / X
Anthony Albanese was chased out of Australia’s largest mosque on Friday by Muslims voicing anger at his stance on Israel’s war in Gaza.
The Australian Prime Minister was called a “putrid dog” and a “genocide supporter” by protesters referring to the deaths of Palestinians after Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Albanese has drawn criticism from the Muslim and Jewish communities in Australia over his centre-left Labor Government’s support for a ceasefire and Israel’s right to self-defence.
The confrontation at the Lakemba Mosque, in Sydney’s southwest came as the community marked Eid, the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
Albanese attended alongside Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.Video footage showed a man yelling “genocide supporters” at Albanese and Burke, while others shouted: “Why is he in here? Get him out of here!”
Others, however, appeared welcoming to the politicians.
As the crowd pushed to get closer to Albanese, Gamel Kheir, the mosque’s secretary, pleaded for calm. “Respect the place you’re in,” he said as altercations broke out.
“We must engage and have frank and open dialogue with our political leaders, and not shy away and be reclusive.”
He was drowned out by shouting, with another attendee yelling: “You called him honourable – he’s responsible for the deaths of one million people, one million of our brothers and sisters.”
One attendee was seen having his mouth forcibly covered by another in an attempt to stop him from shouting.
Security rushed Albanese into the mosque’s administrative offices. He was then ushered out. His motorcade departed to cries of “shame on you” and the slur “Alba-tizi” – a derogatory Arabic play on his surname, referencing buttocks.
While politicians traditionally give speeches at the event, mosque organisers had asked Albanese to listen this year, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
“He wants to come here after shaking hands with the president of Israel, who’s got blood on his hands,” said Seklaoui, 29, who confronted the prime minister. “To come here and act like nothing has happened is a disgrace.”
Later on Friday, Albanese posted photos on X, showing him smiling and shaking hands with attendees.
He told reporters: “Overwhelmingly, the reception was incredibly positive. I walked through the crowd to the mosque, and not a single person heckled. There were a couple of hecklers inside – they were dealt with.
“Contrary to what’s been suggested, no one was rushed out. We just sat there … it was dealt with by the community themselves because overwhelmingly they did not want that to occur.”
Lakemba, a Labor stronghold, has become politically fraught because of the Government’s stance on the Gaza war and its handling of protests.
Resentment has been simmering since last month, when police forcibly removed Muslims as they prayed during a protest against Isaac Herzog, the Israeli President, at Sydney’s Town Hall.
The Australian Government had invited Herzog to visit to help the Jewish community heal after an anti-Semitic attack at Bondi Beach in December killed 15 people at a Hanukkah festival.
A surge in Islamophobic incidents after the Bondi Beach attack has left many feeling abandoned by the Government, claiming it has been slow to protect them.
The Combating Anti-Semitism, Hate and Extremism Act, passed in January, is central to the discontent. The legislation’s use two weeks ago to ban Hizb ut-Tahrir as a “hate group” prompted anger, with critics saying the mood targeted Muslim dissent while failing to protect the community from rising Islamophobia.
Hizb ut-Tahrir, founded in the 1950s to establish a global caliphate, was proscribed in the UK in 2024 for praising the October 7 attacks as the work of “heroes”.
The Australian Government’s move to follow the ban makes membership of the group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
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