A Liberal frontbencher beat a hasty retreat from a mosque after he was heckled and abused by worshippers despite pledging $6.5million to upgrade the Islamic centre.
Jason Wood, the Coalition’s shadow minister for Multicultural Affairs, donned a turban and a striped robe to attend an Eid prayer event at the Afghan Islamic Centre in Melbourne‘s southwest with the local Liberal candidate for the seat of Bruce on Monday evening.
Mr Wood was there to pledge $6.5million in funding to upgrade the facilities but he was met with hostility.
Videos circulating on social media showed worshippers standing up and shouting at Mr Wood, while one video even showed a scuffle breaking out among the crowd.
As Mr Wood left the venue, he was abused by a man filming the exchange.
‘You’re not welcome here brother, get out of here,’ the man said.
As one of Mr Wood’s entourage tries to intervene, the man added: ‘I’ll break your face, bro. Get out of here.’
But the ignominy for the Liberal frontbencher did not end there, with his religious costume likened on social media to the Harry Potter character Quirinus Quirrel, a turban-wearing teacher in the first book of JK Rowling‘s franchise.
Liberal frontbencher Jason Wood (pictured) donned a turban and a striped robe to attend an Eid prayer event in Melbourne’s Dandenong Showground on Monday
Videos circulating on social media showed worshippers standing up and shouting at Mr Wood, while one even showed a scuffle breaking out among the crowd
‘Jason Wood MP has been announced as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher for the upcoming school year,’ one person quipped on X.
John Macgowan, Bruce Lehrmann’s one-time media guru and a former Liberal staffer, said the footage was ‘an absolute classic in the ‘Liberal MP ethnic cosplay’ genre’.
‘He looks like he’s about to declare the annual hunger games open,’ he added.
A video posted by the Stand for Palestine group, which lobbies mosques not to welcome politicians who do not support its cause, was accompanied with the caption: ‘May Allah reward those who stood up’.
‘Shoutout to our Afghan brothers and those who took a noble stance to make it clear that genocide-supporters are NOT welcome in our spaces,’ another post stated.
‘Reportedly, Jason Wood ended by ‘thanking the Afghans who helped the ADF in Afghanistan’ – what a horrendous and insensitive statement from a vile person who SHOULD NEVER have been welcomed by any of our masajid and imams!’
A spokesperson for Mr Wood’s office said the event was ‘gate crashed by pro Palestinian supporters from other Mosques’.
‘There were pro Palestinian supporters, and they started heckling and raising against our presence at the event,’ they said.
Mr Wood’s religious get-up was likened on social media to the Harry Potter character Quirinus Quirrel, a turban-wearing teacher in the first book of JK Rowling’s franchise (pictured)
‘Jason made the announcement and received applause from the crowd.
‘Nearing the end of Jason’s speech, there was some commotion at the back of the crowd.
‘While Jason and Zahid were leaving, there were some fights among groups of people in the crowd, not related or targeted at Jason.
The spokesperson added: ‘Jason and Zahid have been receiving numerous messages of thanks and gratitude from the Afghan community.
‘The Afghan community members are also angry and feel embarrassed by the incident as Jason and Zahid were guests of them.’
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was ‘not concerned about the politics of this’ when asked about Mr Wood at a press conference on Tuesday morning.
‘What I am concerned about is social cohesion, and social cohesion is really important,’ Mr Albanese said.
‘Elections come and go, do you know what stays? Our commitment to multiculturalism.’
The episode comes after leaders of a mosque visited by Peter Dutton sought to distance themselves from the Opposition Leader.
On Sunday, Mr Dutton visited the Al Madinah Mosque in the outer Sydney suburb of Leppington, where he pledged $25,000 for CCTV cameras to improve security.
But the mosques leaders put out a statement clarifying that his visit should not be regarded as support for the Liberal Party or its leader.
‘Please do not see this visit here as an endorsement of any sort, rather, we seek to share with you the views and challenges that many Australian Muslims are facing today, so that may help you formulate policies and provide support that is of significant importance to all Australians,’ the statement said, according to the Daily Telegraph.
On Sunday, Mr Dutton visited the Al Madinah Mosque in the outer Sydney suburb of Leppington, where he pledged $25,000 for CCTV cameras to improve security (pictured) But the mosques leaders have clarified the visit was ‘not an endorsement of any sort’
The statement also demanded a public apology from Mr Dutton about past comments he has made about Lebanese Muslims.
In 2016, Mr Dutton said: ‘The advice I have is that out of the last 33 people who have been charged with terrorist-related offences in this country, 22 of those people are from second and third generation Lebanese-Muslim background’.
The leaders said the comments were of ‘deep concern’.
‘Whilst we who are here today are mainly Australian Pakistanis, we strongly condemn these comments about our Australian Lebanese brothers and sisters, and would do the same if any migrant group from any other religion were the subject to similar comments,’ the statement added.
‘Whilst we understand you have apologised, we understand this was not a public apology and we ask that this be rectified.’
Meanwhile, a Labor-aligned leader of a mosque in the Greens-held seat of Griffith in Brisbane has said Mr Dutton would not be welcome.
‘Mr Dutton’s history of divisive rhetoric, particularly towards migrants and the Muslim community, as well as his support for policies that could disproportionately affect our community, make his visit inconsistent with our values,’ Holland Park Mosque spokesman Ali Kadri, a Labor member who volunteered for Jim Chalmers at the 2022 election, told the publication.