Albanese & Burke Confronted During Eid Prayers At Lakemba Mosque

Anthony Albanese and Tony Burke have been heckled during Eid prayers at Lakemba Mosque this morning, with attending worshippers accusing them of being “genocide supporters”.

The Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister, whose electorate includes Lakemba, had been invited to the service to mark the end of Ramadan, and sat quietly at the front of the room while a small number of protesters cried “shame” and booed.

The disturbance interrupted a speech from secretary of the Lebanese Muslim Association, Gemal Khier, who tried to calm the audience.

“We as Australian Muslims get to have these deep, intellectual discussions in regards to how we navigate the path of emerging political leadership,” he said.

“Respect the place you’re in, please. This is a mosque.”

As others urged attendees to sit down, one person could be heard shouting, “They don’t respect us!”

“You called him honourable, he’s responsible for the deaths of 1 billion people, 1 billion of our brothers and sisters,” another said.

“You don’t represent us anymore.”

Albanese and Burke stayed until the end of the speech, at which point they were escorted out of the building, while some attempted to confront the ministers. Videos show protesters continuing to boo and shout at the pair as they left the premises.

Protester issued move on order

More than 40,000 people were in attendance for the service, including other prominent local representatives from all levels of government.

Video circulating on social media taken from outside the mosque show police escorting Mukhlis Mah, an Arabic teacher and member of the Stand for Palestine group, from the building. He was issued a move-on order and released without charge.

“It was LMA staff who put their hand over Sheikh’s mouth, to silence him as he fulfilled his ammanah to condemn evil,” read a post on Mah’s social media.

“They threw him out and the police took over, throwing down the stairs and giving him a move on order.”

Operators of the mosque, the Lebanese Muslim Association, said in a statement released shortly after the incident that they would continue to open their doors to politicians.

“We understand emotions are high, particularly given the ongoing suffering in Gaza and the devastation in Lebanon. These are not distant issues for our community,” the statement read.

“But we also need to be clear. Choosing to engage with the elected leadership of this country is not a betrayal of those concerns. It is how we give them a voice. 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.”

“When leaders enter our mosque, they do so in the presence of a community that is informed, engaged and unafraid to speak plainly. We do not open our doors for appearances. We do so because real conversations require access, and because our community deserves to be heard directly, not spoken about from a distance.”

Friday’s service was the first time any politicians had been invited to an event at the mosque since 7 October, 2023.