{"id":4170,"date":"2015-04-04T15:43:21","date_gmt":"2015-04-04T15:43:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/?p=4170"},"modified":"2015-04-04T15:44:29","modified_gmt":"2015-04-04T15:44:29","slug":"anti-muslim-rallies-take-place-australia-wide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/index.php\/anti-muslim-rallies-take-place-australia-wide\/","title":{"rendered":"Anti-Muslim rallies take place Australia wide"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Audtralia\"<\/a>Tempers flared and mounted police intervened as protesters took to the streets to march against a combined force of anti-Islam groups across Australia on Saturday.
\nMarchers draped in the Australia flag carried signs screaming anti Islam messages such as \u201cSharia Law equals Pedophilia,” and “God Save Us\u201d in Sydney, while in Perth a line of mounted police and other officers, some with dogs, kept opposing sides apart.
\nA media release on behalf of Rise Up Australia – a group participating under a “Reclaim Australia” banner – stated that the “grass roots movement” started off with just a few Aussies who “were sick of staying silent while Islam, through Multiculturalism, was slowly but surely taking away all of our rights and freedoms.”
\nKuranda Seyit – a spokesperson for the Islamic Council of Victoria – told The Anadolu Agency that the movement’s “Reclaim Australia” slogan made no sense.
\n\u201cWhat are they reclaiming,\u201d asked Seyit, who spoke at a pro-Muslim rally in Sydney. \u201cThe only thing I can see that\u2019s been lost is their dignity, their moral compass and their self-respect.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s an insult to Australia, which prides itself on its multiculturalism and tolerance,\u201d he added.
\nSuch feelings were shared in a banner carried by a demonstrator which depicted an Aboriginal flag
\n\u201cNot yours to Reclaim!\u201d it shouted.
\nReclaim Australia cite the wearing of the burqa, Islamic extremism and the fear that sharia law is on the rise in Australia as issues of concern.
\nCounter-protesters argue the movement is anti-Muslim and Islamophobic, while Clare Fester, who organized a counter-rally in Sydney, told The Anadolu Agency that Reclaim is \u201cracist and divisive.\u201d
\nThe movement’s spokesperson Catherine Brennan denied the accusation, telling AA that they are \u201csimply patriotic\u201d.
\n\u201cWe want to return to traditional Australian values,\u201d she said. \u201cWe want to go back to the time when we can walk into the Lindt caf\u00e9 and not be concerned that we\u2019re going to be blown up or shot,\u201d she said.
\nFrom Dec. 15-16 a lone gunman killed two hostages at Lindt during a two-day siege.
\nOrganizers claim over 700 supporters rallied for Reclaim in Sydney, close to 2000 in Melbourne and over 500 on the Gold Coast and in Adelaide. Counter protesters say their numbers were on par.
\nBrennen told AA that two Reclaim speakers \u201cpulled out because they got death threats,\u201d while reports said four people were arrested in total – three in Melbourne and one in Hobart.
\nPolice shut down the Melbourne rally \u201cfor public safety,\u201d according to the movement, mounted officers brought in to separate both sets of protesters.
\n\u201cLeftists attacked attendees holding flags and were held back by cordon lines and police on horseback. 500 in the rally area and 2000 more unable to get past the left agitators,\u201d the group claimed on its Facebook page.
\nIslamic Council of Victoria spokesperson Seyit said that the tone of both rallies became more confrontational when police came face to face with protesters.
\nHe said it was clear that they had instructions not to allow the pro-Muslim protesters to get near the Reclaim rally.
\n\u201cNobody challenged them,\u201d he stated.
\nHe said that it\u2019s important to keep the anti-Islamic sentiment in Australia in perspective.
\n\u201cThe support base of anti-Islamic groups, trying to stir up trouble, is small. They\u2019re playing on people\u2019s fears and trying to create the impression that Muslims are dangerous and will change the Australian way of life.\u201d
\nThe group is doing nothing more than \u201cfearmongering and exploiting the situation that the Islamic State [Daesh] has created,\u201d he told Anadolu Agen.
\nMeanwhile, Reclaim Australia’s twitter account was hacked prior to the marches Saturday.
\nA protester using the name Jeremy posted messages about drugs, dates with a girl called “Shazza” and xenophobia.
\nHe claimed in an “official statement” that the rallies been cancelled, and posted tweets saying “whats wrong with muslims anyway I dun get it”
\n“I like vegemite on toast, it’s great in a toastie after a big night who gives a sh*t if it’s halal,” he added.
\nVegemite is an iconic Australian slightly bitter sandwich spread made from brewer’s yeast. It is known as Marmite in Europe.<\/p>\n

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