Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was forced to flee a mosque in Sydney on Friday after worshippers confronted him with chants and insults during a visit, calling him a "genocide supporter" and a "putrid dog."
Albanese attended Lakemba Mosque, one of the largest mosques in the country, alongside Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke. While it was intended to be a religious celebration to mark the end of Ramadan, men in the mosque began shouting “genocide supporters” at the two political leaders.
"Why is he in here? Get him out of here!” some members of the crowd were heard saying.
As the situation grew more heated, Gamel Kheir, the mosque’s secretary, urged the men to be peaceful, saying they needed to “respect the place you’re in.”
“We must engage and have frank and open dialogue with our political leaders, and not shy away and be reclusive,” Kheir said.
Still, the crowd was overwhelmingly angered by the prime minister’s presence. “You called him honorable, he’s responsible for the deaths of one million people, one million of our brothers and sisters,” one attendee said.
Security personnel ultimately rushed Albanese into the mosque’s administrative offices, where he was then taken through a back exit and to his motorcade. Cries of “shame on you” and the derogatory Arabic slur “Alba-tizi” were shouted at him.
According to a report by The Telegraph, the anger was rooted in broader frustration among some members of Australia’s Muslim community with the government’s stance on conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.
“He wants to come here after shaking hands with the President of Israel, who’s got blood on his hands,” one man who confronted Albanese told the outlet. “To come here and act like nothing has happened is a disgrace.”
Albanese attended Lakemba Mosque, one of the largest mosques in the country, alongside Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke. While it was intended to be a religious celebration to mark the end of Ramadan, men in the mosque began shouting “genocide supporters” at the two political leaders.
"Why is he in here? Get him out of here!” some members of the crowd were heard saying.
As the situation grew more heated, Gamel Kheir, the mosque’s secretary, urged the men to be peaceful, saying they needed to “respect the place you’re in.”
“We must engage and have frank and open dialogue with our political leaders, and not shy away and be reclusive,” Kheir said.
Still, the crowd was overwhelmingly angered by the prime minister’s presence. “You called him honorable, he’s responsible for the deaths of one million people, one million of our brothers and sisters,” one attendee said.
Security personnel ultimately rushed Albanese into the mosque’s administrative offices, where he was then taken through a back exit and to his motorcade. Cries of “shame on you” and the derogatory Arabic slur “Alba-tizi” were shouted at him.
According to a report by The Telegraph, the anger was rooted in broader frustration among some members of Australia’s Muslim community with the government’s stance on conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.
“He wants to come here after shaking hands with the President of Israel, who’s got blood on his hands,” one man who confronted Albanese told the outlet. “To come here and act like nothing has happened is a disgrace.”
