Hundreds protest Sharia law in Australia
PROTESTERS waving Australian flags and carrying signs such as “Yes Australia. No Sharia” rallied around Australia yesterday in events organisers said were against Islamic extremism.
The “Reclaim Australia” events also triggered counterrallies from other groups who criticised them as racist and called for greater tolerance.
“We are pro-Australian values and anti-extreme Islam, but we’re not antiMuslim,” Reclaim Australia spokeswoman Catherine Brennan said.
In Sydney, hundreds rallied in Martin Place, near the site of a siege in which a lone gunman inspired by the Islamic State group held hostages in a cafe in December. Two people, and the gunman, were killed.
But in a statement slamming Reclaim Australia, counterprotesters in Sydney said: “Their attacks on Islam imply that anyone who is a Muslim is violent, supports terrorism and is anti-woman. This is an attempt to target all Muslims with classic racist stereotypes.”