The Islamic call to prayer should not be broadcast in Australian suburbs and the state government should intervene to stop it, according to Family First National Director and NSW Legislative Council candidate Lyle Shelton.
“The call to prayer, or the Adhān, is about dominating territory for Islam and the ultimate implementation of Sharia Law. That is not a desirable future for Australian suburbs,” Mr Shelton said.
“The broadcast of the Adhān is about changing Australia’s Judeo-Christian culture, not assimilating.”
In a recent interview with the EvangelAus YouTube channel, spokesman for the Lakemba Mosque, Gamel Keir, revealed the true agenda behind the Adhān.
He said historically the call to prayer was about three choices: accepting Islam, paying a tax for protection under Islamic rulers or war.
“I was surprised to hear Mr Keir say this on camera* in answer to questions about why the call to prayer should be allowed to be broadcast every Friday from the minaret of Lakemka Mosque.
“Most Australians would not support any of the three options Mr Keir says Islam offers in response to the Adhān.”
Mr Shelton said very few suburban churches still ring bells on Sunday morning and most do not seek to, so this debate was not about giving mosques in the suburbs a similar right.
“Muslim migrants are of course welcome in Australia, but we don’t want the Islamic cultural transformation that has followed Islamic dominance in formerly Christian countries like Lebanon and in cities like London, Birmingham and Dearborn Michigan.
“Lakemba Mosque’s application to the Canterbury-Bankstown Council is about far more than town planning - it will have the effect of further transforming Australian culture.
“It will set a precedent for other suburbs.
“This is why the state government must intervene for the sake of social cohesion.
“Australia should welcome Muslim people but that does not mean our suburbs should become Islamic.
“While Australia’s current immigration rate is far too high, Australians have always welcomed migrants who become Australians and assimilate with our Judeo-Christian culture.
“Australian culture, because of its Judeo-Christian heritage, rejects Sharia notions of polygamy and the diminished worth of a woman’s testimony in court.
“Muslims are open about the fact that where they dominate, they expect to be able to practice Sharia.”
Mr Shelton said Family First remained deeply concerned about Lakemba Mosque’s apparent support of radical Islam after it hosted the terrorist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir at a rally to support Hamas’s massacre of Israeli’s on October 7.
“As I told the EvangelAus documentary, ‘if I was a Muslim leader and if I believe that Islam was a religion of peace, I'd be chasing those people away from my mosque saying no, no this is not what Islam stands for. We're a religion of peace. we're not into violence and raping women and celebrating all of that. But that's not what we've had from the
Muslim community leadership in Australia’.”
*Transcript of Gamel Keir’s comments on the Adhan
EvangAus: So from your perspective, do you feel that the Australian community outside of Lakemba is treating you unfairly?
Gamel Keir: I would say 100%. And if they were honest enough and you just read the - I mean it doesn't take much. Read our Facebook posts and see the abuse and comments that we're getting over something that people are living in WA or Queensland. I mean what can it be other than their own racist overtones there? You're not going to hear it and it's not going to be a swamp of Muslims coming in and taking over the joint. That's, that's the fearmongering.
EvangelAus: So many people they link the Adhān to the conquering of a when Muhammad would conquer an area and then the Adhān would play and it would mark that this is Muslim territory.
Gamel Keir: Again that is historically factually incorrect. The call to prayer was actually given as a call to say that we are here. See again hand-in-hand with that perception is the fact that that belief that Islam was spread by the sword which historically if you looked at the facts it wasn't. So when we're talking about prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, when he went to a another territory traditionally what would happen was they would be the people of that city or town or village or wherever it may case may be would be given three options: the call to prayer which means they've accepted the Islamic faith because they'd say the call to prayer and they would reply the call to prayer. So, it's not a call to prayer saying we've dominated these are ours now they would call the prayer if the inhabitants of the city returned that call, then that's a sign saying we've accepted. If they didn't want to accept, they don't return the call to prayer. They either lay down their arms and pay a tax. And if they didn't want to do the two, then there was, there wasn't a call to prayer, it was a war. So the call to prayer is exactly the opposite of the analogy that you've given. It's not that we've conquered. It's to say we are here. If you reply, return the call to prayer back to us, then that's an assumption on our behalf that you've accepted the faith and then we leave you alone. If you don't return the call to prayer, then you've got two choices. You either fight or you give a tax and then you're under our protection.
ENDS
Lyle Shelton is Family First's National Director, NSW Legislative Council lead candidate.
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