Australia’s Largest Christian News Site

Anthony Albanese demands answers after New South Wales police disrupted Muslim prayers during a Sydney CBD riot, sparking debate over religious freedom, public order, political double standards, and who sets the rules in Australia’s streets.

Anthony Albanese has demanded a full explanation from NSW police after they broke up a Muslim prayer meeting being held in the middle of the CBD, in the middle of a riot.

The Prime Minister told the Inside Politics podcast:

I’m very empathetic about the hurt that’s been felt by the Muslim community of prayers being disrupted. I think that is an issue that needs addressing because, I think people need to have a right to practice their faith in peace.

I’ll get to the issue of whether or not a pop-up mosque in the middle of an unauthorised, anti-Israel protest is an act of legitimate religion, or a performative stunt in a second.

Though I’m guessing you already know the answer to that.

And the reason you know the answer – while the PM appears not to – is that, unlike the PM, you’re not chasing votes in Western Sydney.

I note that the PM was faster to demand an explanation as to why a group of Muslims were stopped from praying in the middle of the street than he was to demand a Royal Commission into why Jews were shot dead in the middle of Bondi.

I also note that while Albo is quick to advocate on behalf of Muslims blocking Town Hall Square for impromptu prayers, he has said nothing about NSW laws that prevent Christians from so much as bowing their head while standing on a footpath within 150m of an abortion clinic.

Make of that what you will.

Prayer or Political Theatre?

In case you’ve forgotten, here are the Muslim men who decided they needed to worship Allah in the middle of a public place, in the middle of an anti-Israel protest.

According to NSW police, the men started to pray – and one officer apparently said they could continue, before other police then directed them to move on as things got progressively out of hand.

The men refused.

The PM says he needs an explanation for the NSW police taking action, so I’ll give him one.

You don’t get to hold a prayer meeting in a Sydney CBD public thoroughfare… for the same reason you don’t get to hold a picnic on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

It causes an obstruction. And, well, it’s rude.

The PM says he’s empathetic to those Muslim men.

Really?

Shouldn’t the PM be empathetic with the majority of Australians who would rather not have their city transformed into an open-air mosque?

If a group of nuns defied police orders to perform the rosary in the middle of the street, we’d expect police to move them on.

Not because we’re anti-religion and certainly not because we’re anti-Catholic … but because we’re pro-traffic flow.

It’s really not that complicated.

Religious Freedom vs Public Order

And yet…

According to a report in The Guardian, no fewer than 38 Muslim and legal organisations across Australia have demanded the NSW police commissioner resign for having his officers… and I quote… “knowingly intervene in a moment of religious observance”.

Yeah. And I can’t think of another faith that plonks its sacred practices in the middle of the street and then demands everyone else deal with it.

In a statement, the Islamic groups said:

“Muslims should not be held to a different standard, nor should our religious expression be treated as a problem to be managed or suppressed.”

Well, when you choose to hold your religious expression in the middle of a public place – rather than in any of the more than 100 mosques dotted around Sydney – it does tend to become a traffic problem that needs to be managed.

Here’s Sheikh Wesam Charkawi explaining that NSW police should respect the right of Muslims to pray whenever and wherever they want.

Prayer is very holy and sacrosanct to who we are. For the NSW police to not respect that that is really telling.

Beg to differ.

It’s not the actions of NSW police that are really telling, so much as Charkawi’s explanation as to why he and his prayer partners didn’t move:

“When you’re in prayer, you’re not allowed to break it for any reason. There’s got to be a catastrophe, or some type of emergency that is happening, for us to do that.”

In other words, our rules of prayer take precedence over all considerations – including those of your police.

And you’ll forgive me for thinking that was really the point of their supposedly spontaneous prayer meeting.

It looked to me a lot less like a moment of humble worship than a demonstration of who’s in charge.

We are here. We don’t recognise you. And we will impose our will. Amen.

That the PM expresses empathy with that demonstration is far more concerning than the actions of NSW police.

___

Republished with thanks to The James Macpherson Report.