Australian cricket star Usman Khawaja has accused Peter Dutton of “fuelling Islamophobia”, after the opposition chief mentioned he was involved a couple of future minority Labor authorities counting on crossbench assist together with “Muslim candidates from western Sydney”.
Within the wake of Fatima Payman’s defection from the Labor Get together and her discussions with grassroots marketing campaign teams in search of to activate Muslim voters in Sydney and Melbourne, political leaders have raised issues about social cohesion on the poll field. Anthony Albanese additionally mentioned he didn’t again “faith-based political parties”, claiming such actions would “isolate” themselves from wider society.
Throughout a press convention yesterday, Dutton claimed the Labor social gathering can be lowered to minority authorities after the following election, and would depend on crossbench assist that may “include the Greens, it’ll include green teals, it’ll include Muslim candidates from western Sydney, it will be a disaster”.
The Coalition has 55 seats within the Home of Representatives, and would wish to select up an extra 21 seats to win majority authorities. Labor, alternatively, would wish to lose solely a handful of its 78 seats to give up its majority. Election strategists imagine there’s a actual prospect of Labor being lowered to minority authorities on the subsequent election.
Labor faces challenges to key senior MPs in western Sydney and Melbourne, from teams together with the new, self-described “grassroots” motion Muslim Vote, which plans to mount campaigns interesting to Muslim voters. Payman mentioned she was not related to the group and had solely had one assembly with them.
In a press release, the Muslim Vote defined they weren’t a political social gathering, however a “united collective dedicated to empowering Australian Muslims in the electoral process”, saying its principal goals have been to “to educate and mobilise our community at the grassroots level.”
Khawaja was scathing of Dutton’s feedback in a put up on X.
“As a Muslim who grew up in Western Sydney I find this comment from someone who is running for PM an absolute disgrace. Bigotry at its finest. Fueling Islamophobia from the very top,” he wrote.
Dutton’s workplace was contacted for response. A spokesperson directed Guardian Australia to feedback Dutton made on Channel 9’s Immediately present on Friday, the place he was not requested in regards to the Khawaja feedback, however spoke broadly about faith-based events.
“I don’t have any problem with a party that has a religious view,” Dutton mentioned.
“My problem is not with somebody of Islamic faith – quite the opposite – not with somebody of Jewish faith. But when you say that your task is to, as a first order of priority, to support a Palestinian cause or a cause outside of Australia, that is a very different scenario.”
“It will included Muslim candidates from Western Sydney, it will be a disaster”. As a Muslim who grew up in Western Sydney I discover this remark from somebody who’s operating for PM an absolute shame. Bigotry at its best. Fueling Islamophobia from the very prime. https://t.co/AyMSYGb57R
— Usman Khawaja (@Uz_Khawaja) July 4, 2024
Dutton claimed such events would gas “sectarianism in this country”, including “we don’t need that sort of approach”.
“We saw it with the Catholics and Protestants many decades ago, and if you look at the Muslim Vote website, they talk about their principal aim, their first objective, to support Palestinian territory,” he mentioned.
Immediately host Karl Stefanovic identified Australia already had faith-based events, together with the Christian Democrats and the Australian Christians. These events, together with others together with Household First, explicitly referenced Christian religion and beliefs as core components of their actions.
When Christian Democrats founder Fred Nile wound up his social gathering in 2022, he mentioned in a press release to supporters: “I have dedicated my life to being your Christian voice in NSW Parliament, it has been my calling, indeed my ministry since 1981.”
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The deputy Liberal chief, Sussan Ley, advised Channel Seven’s Dawn that Khawaja was “a good guy and a great cricketer, but he’s wrong on this. I believe Australians don’t want to see religious independents.”
“Our political system has always been secular, and it has welcomed all, and we don’t want any religious independents calling the shots in a minority Labor government,” she mentioned.
At a press convention on Friday morning, Albanese mentioned: “I don’t want Australia to go down the road of faith-based political parties, because what that will do is undermine social cohesion.”
He famous the Labor social gathering included members of Christian, Muslim and Jewish faiths, amongst others.
“That’s the way you bring cohesion, and it seems to me as well beyond obvious that it’s not in the interest of small and minority groups to isolate themselves, which is what a faith-based party system would do,” he mentioned.
Payman was requested at her press convention whether or not she would “campaign on other Islamic, Muslim type of issues”.
She was sad with the query.
“I don’t know how to respond to that question without feeling offended or insulted, that just because I am a visibly Muslim woman, that I would only care about Muslim issues,” Payman responded.
“Palestinian liberation is a matter that has impacted everyone with a conscience. It is not just a Jewish versus Muslim issue,” she mentioned.
“This is a matter about humanity, freedom, equality and I know there are decent people out there who want to see a free Palestine, but also these are the universal principles we as Australians stand for.”
