“You say, oh, well, there’s good Muslims out there. Well, I’m sorry, how can you tell me there are good Muslims?” Pauline Hanson remarked during an interview with Sky News.
Responding to her comments, a spokesperson criticized the statement as divisive and inflammatory. “This is un-Australian, completely un-Australian, to suggest that among the 800,000 Muslims in Australia, there aren’t good people,” the spokesperson said on the Today show.
“That’s essentially what Pauline said,” the spokesperson continued. “Clearly, she went too far with her remarks.”
The spokesperson also noted that Hanson is unlikely to apologize. “She never admits to making mistakes, although we all do,” they stated. “But apologizing is exactly what Pauline should do.”
“She won’t apologise, because she doesn’t do that, she never admits that she makes mistakes â we all do,” he said.
“That’s what Pauline should do (apologise).Â
“I mean, we just had a Muslim Australian, Ahmed al Ahmed, save lives at Bondi.Â
“He was a Muslim Australian, he’s an Australian hero.Â
“So what does Pauline have to say to him?”
Appearing on ABC TV this morning, 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 apologise,” she said.
“For the fact is, I will have my say now before it’s too late.”
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.Â
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”.
This morning, 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.Â
“It is just not something that I think is part of our country.”
“The Qur’an⦠challenges Muslims to respond to those individuals who might be overwhelmed by the weight of their convictions, with peace,” he said last night.
“These values are embodied by Muslim Australians who serve in hospitals, classrooms, small businesses, the armed forces, and public institutions every day.
“So, utilising 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.
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