Australian politician under fire for ‘wrong and cruel’ comments about Muslims

CANBERRA, Australia (MNTV) –– One of Australia’s most prominent conservative senators has delivered a stinging critique of One Nation leader Pauline Hanson over her inflammatory comments about Muslims, saying the remarks are un-Australian and show she is an unfit leader. 

On Monday night, she claimed there were no good Muslims and that those who practice the religion “hate Westerners”. 

“You say, oh, well, there’s good Muslims out there. Well, I’m sorry, how can you tell me there are good Muslims?” she told Sky News.

The comments have received widespread condemnation, with the latest broadside coming from Nationals senator Matt Canavan – himself a leading conservative figure on the right of politics.

“This statement from Pauline was divisive, inflammatory. It’s un-Australian, totally un-Australian, for someone to say that of those 800,000 Australians who are Muslim, there’s no good people among them,” he said. “That’s what Pauline said. Now, clearly, I think she went too far.”

Canavan, who, like Hanson, is up for re-election at the next federal election and will be vying with the One Nation leader for a Senate seat in Queensland, said an apology should be issued.

“She won’t apologize, because she doesn’t do that, she never admits that she makes mistakes – we all do,” he said. “That’s what Pauline should do (apologize). I mean, we just had a Muslim Australian, Ahmed al Ahmed, save lives at Bondi. He was a Muslim Australian, he’s an Australian hero. So what does Pauline have to say to him?”

Appearing on ABC TV later, Hanson somewhat walked back her comments, admitting she doesn’t “genuinely believe” there are no good Muslim Australians, because “one woman stood for me, she was a Muslim, but not a practising Muslim”.

And while she did offer a guarded apology if she had offended anyone “that doesn’t believe in Sharia law”, she backtracked just moments later. “I’m not going to apologize,” she said.

Hanson, who has long promoted anti-Islamic rhetoric, including claiming Australia was in danger of being “swamped by Muslims” during her 2016 maiden speech to the Senate, also faced criticism from senior government ministers yesterday over her latest comments. 

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke labelled the remarks “wrong and cruel” and “not worthy of someone who holds public office”, while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said she “never comes up with any solutions, just identifies and promotes grievance”.

Canavan said the comments proved Hanson was “not a leader of Australia”. “She’s not fit to lead a major political party with these types of ill-disciplined statements that she won’t correct, that insult hundreds of thousands of Australians,” he said. “It is just not something that I think is part of our country.”

Meanwhile, Australia’s special envoy to combat Islamophobia, Aftab Malik, invited Hanson to join him at a fast-breaking dinner during Ramadan. “The Qur’an… challenges Muslims to respond to those individuals who might be overwhelmed by the weight of their convictions, with peace,” he said.

“These values are embodied by Muslim Australians who serve in hospitals, classrooms, small businesses, the armed forces, and public institutions every day. So, utilizing the inner spirit of a mystic sage, I extend a genuine invitation to Senator Hanson, to join me for Iftar this Ramadan.

“Ms Hanson is welcome to ask questions directly. I’ll be happy to talk to her about Sharia Law, the different types of Jihad, the Qur’an, violent extremism, women in Islam and any other questions she might have. My door is open.”