In reaction to the NSW Police’s crackdown on anti-Israel protests, Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi, who is Muslim, made the following comments:

“We have known that we are second-class citizens in this country for a very long time. Now everyone can see that Muslims are not just gaslighted, they are not just scapegoated, but they are actually assaulted by the very people who are supposed to protect us.”

According to Faruqi, Muslims are “second-class citizens” and are “scapegoated” and “assaulted.” If one were to believe her words, they would imagine Australia is an anti-Muslim state filled with high levels of Islamophobia. In reality, Muslims are far from second-class citizens. Not only do Muslims who are Australian citizens have the same rights as non-Muslim Australians, but Australian Muslims are sometimes given much leeway.

For example, soon after Oct 7, the largest slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust, committed by jihadists, many pro-Palestine activists and Muslims openly celebrated the massacre outside the Sydney Opera House. These celebrations were accompanied by chants such as ‘f… the Jews.” Despite these vile chants and support for terrorism, there was no forceful police crackdown. There have also been many Islamic preachers who have spewed antisemitic rhetoric, as documented by the Middle East Media Research Institute in a compilation. On Oct 9, 2023, Sheikh Ibrahim Dadoun celebrated Oct 7, exclaiming, “I’m smiling and I’m happy.”

How many extremist Islamic preachers were arrested or........

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