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”.
-
3 officers killed in Pennsylvania shootingSpeed Read Police did not share the identities of the officers or the slain suspect, nor the motive or the focus of the still-active investigation
-
Fed cuts interest rates a quarter pointSpeed Read ‘The cut suggests a broader shift toward concern about cracks forming in the job market’
-
ABC shelves ‘Kimmel Live’ after Trump FCC threatSpeed Read ‘A free and democratic society cannot silence comedians because the president doesn’t like what they say’
-
Why ‘anti-Islam’ bikers are guarding Gaza aid sitesIn The Spotlight Members of Infidels MC, who regard themselves as modern Crusaders, among private security guards at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Dozens dead in Kashmir as terrorists target touristsSpeed Read Visitors were taking pictures and riding ponies in a popular mountain town when assailants open fired, killing at least 26
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
