Latest news with #AustralianMuslims
Kuwait Times
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
Zionist entity revokes visas of Australian diplomats
TEL AVIV/SYDNEY: The Zionist entity's foreign minister said on Monday he had revoked the visas of Australian diplomats to the Palestinian Authority, following a decision by Canberra to recognize a Palestinian state and cancel a Zionist entity lawmaker's visa. The Australian government said it had cancelled the visa of a lawmaker from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition who has advocated against Palestinian statehood and called for the Zionist entity to annex the occupied West Bank. Zionist Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Australia's ambassador to the Zionist entity had been informed that the visas of representatives to the Palestinian Authority had been revoked. Like many countries, Australia maintains an embassy to the entity in Tel Aviv and a representative office to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank city of Ramallah. 'I also instructed the (Zionist) Embassy in Canberra to carefully examine any official Australian visa application for entry to (the Zionist entity),' Saar wrote on X, describing Australia's refusal to grant visas to some citizens of the Zionist entity as 'unjustifiable'. Australia's government did not immediately comment. The Palestinian foreign ministry issued a statement condemning the entity's decision as illegal and 'in violation of international law. Australia is set to recognize a Palestinian state next month, a move it says it hopes will contribute to international momentum towards a two-state solution, a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Palestinian militants in Gaza. Invitation by Jewish group Simcha Rothman, a parliamentarian from the Religious Zionism party led by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, had been scheduled to visit Australia this month at the invitation of a conservative Jewish organization. Rothman said he was told his visa had been cancelled over remarks the Australian government considered controversial and inflammatory, including his assertion that Palestinian statehood would lead to the destruction of the Zionist entity and his call for Zionist sovereignty over the West Bank. 'Nothing that I said personally has not been said over and over again by the vast majority of the public in (the Zionist entity) and the Government of (the Zionist entity),' Rothman told Reuters by phone. Rothman said he had been informed that his views would cause unrest among Australian Muslims. Asked about Canberra's decision on Palestinian statehood, Rothman said that would be a 'grave mistake and a huge reward for Hamas and for terror'. Australia's Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke said in an emailed statement that the government takes a hard line on those who seek to spread division in Australia, and that anyone coming to promote a message of hate and division was not welcome. 'Under our government, Australia will be a country where everyone can be safe, and feel safe,' he said. The Home Affairs Ministry declined further comment. Rothman had been invited by the Australian Jewish Association to meet members of the Jewish community and show solidarity in the face of 'a wave of antisemitism,' AJA Chief Executive Robert Gregory said. In June, Australia and four other countries imposed sanctions on Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir over accusations of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. — Reuters
ABC News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
The federal election demonstrated that Muslim votes do matter: A response to Ali Kadri - ABC Religion & Ethics
You can hear Ghaith Krayem discuss 'How powerful is the Muslim vote this election?' with Sami Shah, Dr Rachel Woodlock and Khaled Khalafalla on God Forbid on ABC Radio National. The recent article by Ali Kadri raises a number of important questions about the way Australian Muslims can engage in politics. But as a co-founder and the national spokesperson of Muslim Votes Matter (MVM), I believe that Kadri's criticism of the organisation misses the essence of what it represents and why it managed to strike a deep chord within the community. MVM is not a political party, and it doesn't pretend to be. It is a grassroots political advocacy and lobbying movement, built to address a vacuum that has long existed within the community — the absence of an organised, strategic Muslim political voice. In little more than fifteen months, MVM has grown from an idea into a nationwide movement, mobilising more than 1,000 volunteers to staff polling booths on election day. Our mission has always been clear. MVM exists: to increase political awareness and literacy within the Muslim community; to increase political awareness and literacy within the Muslim community; to shift the public narrative around Muslim political mobilisation; and to shift the public narrative around Muslim political mobilisation; and to translate that mobilisation into real-world influence. We are proud of the progress made on these fronts. The fact that conversations about Muslim political agency are now happening both within the community and in mainstream media is itself a sign that we are moving the needle. Contrary to claims that MVM lacks a policy agenda or clear demands, we have published our priorities for this term of federal parliament and sought written commitments from all major parties — to which the Australian Greens have responded positively. Our advocacy is driven not by protest or emotion, but by concrete goals grounded in community needs. The critique that MVM prioritises anger over strategy, I believe, fundamentally misreads our work. Yes, there is anger — righteous anger at a killing of tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza, and at what many Muslims consider to be the inaction or silence of political leaders. But that anger has been channelled into coordinated action. The federal election was a tactical moment within a larger, long-term strategy. It allowed us to demonstrate that not only can the Muslim community mobilise, it can also affect electoral outcomes in key seats — such as Calwell in Melbourne's outer-west, and Banks in south-west Sydney. They are tangible results of focused political organising, that point to a future in which Muslim Australians are no longer taken for granted politically. Some commentators have expressed concern that MVM's approach may alienate allies or reinforce identity politics. But political organising around shared identity and interests are, and have always been, a feature of Australian political life. Whether unions, environmental groups or faith-based movements, all communities have the right to advocate for their interests. Muslim Australians are no exception. Rather than fracture the Australian community, MVM has brought together people who have long been marginalised and thereby created space for a more inclusive political conversation. Needless to say, we are not naïve about the road ahead. Political advocacy inevitably invites backlash, and success will bring attempts at co-option or dilution. But we are prepared. MVM was never about just one election — it was about building a sustained presence, a movement that can engage, pressure and negotiate with power, while staying accountable to its base. For too long, Australian Muslim political engagement has focused on relationships — often relationships that have delivered little more than photo opportunities or empty statements. MVM wants to shift the focus to outcomes. Relationships will always matter, but they must serve the larger goal of delivering meaningful change for our community. As we move forward, MVM will continue to evolve, learn and deepen its influence. For now, however, we can be confident that the era of the politically invisible Muslim voter is over. MVM has helped awaken a new political consciousness among Muslims, and it would be risky for the political establishment to ignore it. We welcome critical engagement with our work, but we ask that it be grounded in facts. Ali Kadri claims, for example, that Muslim Votes Matter: urged people to preference Labor last on how-to-vote cards. In some electorates, Labor was placed behind parties that have long opposed multiculturalism and even Muslim communities themselves. This is not true. MVM preferenced the ALP ahead of the Coalition in 146 out of 150 seats, and in no seat across the whole country did we place the ALP last on the ballot. The real story of MVM is not one of protest versus policy, but of a movement finding its footing, testing its power and opening a new chapter in Australian political life — one where Muslim voices are truly heard and hard to ignore. Ghaith Krayem is the national spokesperson of Muslim Votes Matter.
ABC News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
The Muslim Vote-endorsed candidates who scored numbers at the polls say they're just getting started
Labor may have retained the Western Sydney seats of Blaxland and Watson with comfortable margins, but a closer look at the results reveals the party has lost some support. While the federal election was fought on many fronts including the housing crisis, cost of living and migration, the issue of Gaza loomed large in the two seats, where the highest concentration of Australian Muslims live. Independents endorsed by The Muslim Vote campaign secured enough of the primary vote to edge out the Liberal candidates and come second in the two-party preferred vote behind Labor frontbenchers Tony Burke and Jason Clare. The Muslim Vote formed less than two years ago with a mission to unify Australian Muslims as a voting bloc to back independent candidates sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. The Muslim Vote has consistently accused the Labor government of complicity in the destruction of Gaza and attacks on its people. In Blaxland, independent Ahmed Ouf averaged 20 per cent of the primary vote across the electorate. ABC analysis of booth data reveals Mr Ouf dominated in suburbs like Guildford and South Granville with almost 46 per cent of first preferences. In Auburn Central he got as high as 46.6 per cent of the primary vote. Mr Ouf managed to bite into Education Minister Jason Clare's margin which went from 55 per cent at the 2022 election to about 46.5 per cent last Saturday. He seems to have also siphoned a similar percentage of primary votes from the Liberal Party, which had just over 27 per cent in 2022 but around 19 per cent this year. Independent Ziad Basyouny in Watson also chipped away at Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke's primary vote, which was down from 51.9 per cent in 2022 to about 48.5 per cent. Political scientist and the Centre for Western Sydney executive director Andy Marks said there was "no question" that Gaza and geopolitics played an outsized role in Western Sydney and the vote overall. "This is the kind of surge you would expect to see over four or five election cycles, typically," Professor Marks said. "For them to poll so strongly early on, I think says something about the broad base of their appeal." The Labor Party, Mr Burke and Mr Clare declined to comment. The Greens also experienced a significant upswing in their Senate votes in those seats. Voting data shows the Greens more than doubled their Senate vote in Blaxland from 6 per cent in 2022 to about 13.6 per cent this year. In Watson they rose from 9 per cent to about 14.5 per cent. NSW senator and Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi credited the improved vote share to Muslim communities backing the party's stance on Gaza. The International Court of Justice last January ruled Israel must do everything in its power to prevent its troops from committing genocide in Gaza. Israel rejected the genocide allegations levelled against it, brought to the court by South Africa. The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said in March that since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians. The Israeli government said 1,200 Israelis were killed in an attack by Hamas. Professor Marks believes the Greens' Senate result is an indicator of how voters in the electorates engage with federal politics. "I think the fact that the voters were able to discern a role for the Greens, if you like a guardian role for them in the Senate, says that the electorate is pretty sophisticated — they consider those checks and balances very carefully." The Muslim Vote convener Sheikh Wesam Charkawi said the results send a clear message to Labor. "These are not passive voters. They're active voters who voted to basically reject their stance on Gaza, Palestine, their weak stance," he said. Sheikh Wesam said the results in the 2025 election were only the beginning and vowed the community "will no longer accept broken promises". Professor Marks said the vote share in these electorates signalled there was strong support for both independents should they contest the next election. "It's a conundrum for Labor and for the Liberals but if you're in office, if you're Labor, you're thinking do I need to co-opt this group? Do I need to align and accept they'll be there much like the Greens are a continual force in that space in the electorate."
Daily Mail
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Anthony Albanese targeted by vandals who sprayed racist graffiti on Islamic school ahead of the election
The Prime Minister has been targeted in a vile anti-migrant graffiti sprawl which was left on the walls of an Islamic College. Vandals spray painted the hateful messages on the outer walls of the Australian Islamic College of Sydney in Rooty Hill which were discovered on Friday morning. Teachers and students of the kindergarten through year 12 school had to walk past the messages on their way into class as staff attempted to scrub it off. The school neighbours Rooty Hill's mosque and the messages included phrases such as 'No migrants', ' Hamas Albo', and 'Albo liar' in black paint on the brick fence. Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) quickly released a statement condemning the vandalism which took place one day before the federal election. 'This disgraceful act of hate is yet another disturbing reminder of the rising hostility faced by Australian Muslims, including children and families, in spaces that should be safe, welcoming and free from intimidation,' the statement read. 'The attack was clearly designed to intimidate and provoke fear, targeting both the school's predominantly Southeast Asian Muslim community and the broader Arab and Muslim community. 'This dual targeting makes the attack even more alarming, as it strikes at the heart of the community's religious and educational life.' The college is yet to comment on the matter but ANIC has already requested an increase in protection from local police around Islamic sites in the area. 'Such acts cause immense distress to young students, vilify entire communities, and undermine the inclusive principles Australia stands for,' the statement continued. 'We urge political leaders at all levels to move beyond statements of condemnation and implement meaningful measures to address the root causes of Islamophobia. 'Hate must not be tolerated, not in our schools, not in our streets, and not in our society. 'No child should be made to feel unsafe on their way to school. No community should be left to endure hate in silence. 'We demand justice, accountability, and a renewed national commitment to combating Islamophobia in all its forms.' NSW Police have confirmed the incident is under investigation. Officers from Mount Druitt are set to lead the investigation. 'The NSW Police Force takes hate crimes seriously and encourages anyone who is the victim of a hate crime or witnesses a hate crime to report the matter to police through Crime Stoppers or triple-0 in an emergency,' a police spokesman said. 'It is important that the community and police continue to work together to make NSW a safer place for everyone. 'As inquiries are ongoing, anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.'
