Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Photo / Getty Images
Anthony Albanese has blamed backlash over the banning of pan-Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir for heckling at Australia’s largest mosque.
Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke were heckled and accused of being “genocide supporters” during Eid celebrations at Lakemba Mosque in Sydney’s southwest this morning.
In video obtained by the ABC, the pair are seated at the front of the mosque when a man in the crowd shouts “genocide supporters”, while others audibly boo.
When another man attempts to intervene, the heckler says “genocide supporter, man”.
“Genocide supporters. Boo,” he shouts.
Speaking from South Australia, Albanese said there were 30,000 people at the mosque and that “overwhelmingly the reception was incredibly positive”.
“I walked through the crowd to the mosque and not a single person heckled,” he said.
“There were a couple of hecklers inside, they were dealt with ... no one was rushed out, we just sat there, it was dealt with.
“It was dealt with by the community themselves because overwhelmingly they did not want that to occur.”
Albanese thanked organisers for the “very warm reception that occurred”.
“Yes, there were a couple of people who were heckling. Some people don’t like the fact that we have outlawed extremist organisations like Hizb ut-Tahrir, and that brought a response from a couple of people,” he said.
“But if you got a couple of people heckling in a crowd of 30,000, that should be put in that perspective.”
The incident was absent from a subsequent social media post by the Prime Minister.
Albanese can be seen smiling and shaking hands with congregants in the post, which is captioned: “Eid Mubarak. An honour to join thousands for Eid al-Fitr at Lakemba Mosque this morning.”
In the video, a physical altercation also appears to break out between at least two men, with one man having his mouth covered by another man’s hand at one stage.
One of the men has since been identified as Stand4Palestine activist Mukhlis Mah.
In a separate video uploaded to the Stand4Palestine Instagram, the group claimed Mah was “thrown out” and that Lebanese Muslim Association (LMA) staff, who administer the mosque, put their hands on his mouth.
“They threw him out and the police took over, throwing him down the stairs and giving him a move-on order,” a caption stated.
In the separate video, a voice shouts to get Albanese and Burke “out of here”.
“How dare you come here? How dare you come here? How dare you come here? This is our sacred place,” the voice shouts before being muffled by the scuffle.
Palestinian-Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah, who shared the video, also shared a separate post that described Albanese and Burke’s invitation as a “reward for supporting the genocide and destruction of our people and homelands”.
“There is no dua (Islamic prayer) strong enough against the traitors who invited them,” she wrote.
“The blood of Palestinians and Lebanese and Iranians is on the hands of the LMA.
“I hope your grants and selfies are worth it.
“There should have been an uprising in that sacred place.”
In a statement, NSW Police said officers were called to the mosque after reports of a “disturbance during a meeting /service”.
“Officers attached to Campsie Police Area Command attended and removed a 33-year-old man from the premises before issuing him a move-on direction, which was complied with,” police said.
In a statement, the LMA said it was aware that “emotions are high”.
“But, we also need to be clear,” it stated.
“Choosing to engage with elected leadership of this country is not a betrayal of those concerns” in regard to wars in Gaza and Lebanon, it continued.
“Walking away from engagement has not advanced our community, nor has it changed outcomes overseas.
“It has not reduced Islamophobia here, and it has not strengthened our ability to influence decisions that affect us.”
In a post, the LMA noted the Prime Minister’s visit was the first in the more than two and a half years since the October 7 attack and Israel’s subsequent war on Gaza, with no invitations to politicians having been issued in that time.
The LMA said Albanese’s office had conveyed his “genuine enthusiasm” to celebrate Eid with the Muslim community alongside Burke, and that no political speeches were delivered.
Later, another man shouts “Why is he in here? Get him out of here” while Albanese and Burke remain seated.
LMA secretary Gamel Kheir, who was guiding proceedings, pleads with the men to sit down.
“Respect the place you’re in, please,” Keir said.
“This is a mosque.”
The statement prompts another outburst from the heckler, who says “You’ve got to respect us” before reiterating calls to “get him out of here”.
Earlier, Kheir urged calm from the congregants.
“We as Australian Muslims get to have these deep intellectual discussions in regard to how we navigate the path to engaging political leadership, the media, and the wider Australian public,” he said.
“We can neither totally disengage, nor can we invite politicians to our place of worship … to make us feel good about ourselves but never genuinely have a robust and effective communication with them.”
Kheir earlier noted advocacy in the mosque with Albanese over the Yes referendum.
“In response to the positions of the state and federal governments in defending Israel’s actions, we as a collective community decided to actively disengage from any contact or communication with both government, police, and the wider Australian community,” he said.
“This isolationist and non-engagement policy did not did serve an initial purpose.
“However, after one federal election and the continuing war in the Middle East, we must ask ourselves how effective has this engagement really been?”
Kheir said there had been a “dramatic rise of the far-right anti-immigration agenda”, which he described as “so proudly represented by the likes of Pauline Hanson and certain elements of the Coalition party”.
“Yet the Australian Muslim community has had zero impact on the federal election process or the framing of policy legislation and the dramatic rise in Islamophobic attacks.
“In essence, we have been unable to better lobby and advocate the Government in regards to policy and legislation that directly impacts our community.”
Albanese has faced pushback from the Islamic community following the passage of sweeping hate-speech laws after the Bondi Beach terror attack.
Opponents of the measures say they are unfairly targeted, including over criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza.
NSW Premier Chris Minns pulled plans for an iftar dinner with the Muslim community as the relationship between the state government and Islamic leaders deteriorates.
Lakemba Mosque, one of Australia’s largest, has also been targeted by hateful letters.
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