An Australian senator has sparked outrage by claiming that Muslim immigration is to blame for mass shootings at two Christchurch mosques that have claimed at least 49 lives.
As New Zealand reels from the emerging reports of the massacre, Fraser Anning, who sits as an independent senator for Queensland, tweeted: “Does anyone still dispute the link between Muslim immigration and violence?”
The tweet prompted a “fierce and negative response”, says New Zealand-based news site Stuff.co.nz.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In a follow-up statement, Anning wrote that “whilst this kind of violent vigilantism can never be justified... The real cause of bloodshed on New Zealand streets today is the immigration program which allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate to New Zealand in the first place”.
He ended the incendiary statement by attacking Islam as “the religious equivalent of fascism”, adding: “Just because the followers of this savage belief were not the killers in this instance, that does not make them blameless.”
Three men and a woman are in custody in connection to the Christchurch shootings, at least one of whom is an Australian national.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was among those who condemned Anning’s remarks, calling them “disgusting”.
“Those views have no place in Australia, let alone the Australian Parliament,” Morrison tweeted.
Anning’s inflammatory comments also drew international criticism.
British Home Secretary Sajid Javid tweeted: “At a time for grieving and reflection, this Australian senator Fraser Anning fans the flames of violence & extremism.”
Anning was elected to the Australian Senate in 2016 as a member of the far-right One Nation party. However, shortly after his swearing-in ceremony, in November 2017, he announced that he had left the party following a fall-out with leader Pauline Hanson, and would sit as an independent.
In June 2018, he joined the newly formed Katter’s Australian Party, but was expelled just four months later for his extreme anti-immigration rhetoric, including referencing a “final solution” to the issue - echoing language used by Nazi leaders planning the Holocaust.
A proponent of “traditional family values” who opposes same-sex marriage, foreign aid and “third world immigration”, Anning is especially notorious for his virulent Islamophobic views.
“In his maiden speech to parliament, Mr Anning called for a ban on Muslim immigration and urged a return to the White Australia policy” of the 1950s and 1960s, under which non-European immigration to Australia was severely restricted, reports Sydney-based site SBS News.
The senator has said repeatedly that Islam is “incompatible” with Australian life and tweeted earlier this week that he was “totally against any Muslims in our parliament”.
-
6 homes with incredible balconiesFeature Featuring a graceful terrace above the trees in Utah and a posh wraparound in New York City
-
Did Alex Pretti’s killing open a GOP rift on guns?Talking Points Second Amendment groups push back on the White House narrative
-
The 8 best hospital dramas of all timethe week recommends From wartime period pieces to of-the-moment procedurals, audiences never tire of watching doctors and nurses do their lifesaving thing
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
Australia weighs new gun laws after antisemitic attackSpeed Read A father and son opened fire on Jewish families at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing at least 15
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
