Lakemba Mosque: Second alleged mass shooting threat after ‘Christchurch again’ comment
Police are investigating an alleged mass shooting threat to one of Australia’s largest mosques with a NSW minister slamming the incident as “unconscionable”.
The Express
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Police are investigating an alleged mass shooting threat to one of Australia’s largest mosques with the NSW Minister for Multiculturalism slamming the incident as “unconscionable”.
On Wednesday, police were alerted to comments posted to a video on the Lakemba Mosque’s official TikTok account stating “Christchurch again please”.
The commenter, ‘wello’, claimed to be an inmate at the Silverwater Prison, also posting: “(the police) probably have their fingers crossed like the rest of the country”.
It is the second mosque in Sydney to become the target of an alleged mass shooting threat after similar comments were made to the Australian Islamic House Masjid earlier this month.
“The NSW Police Force takes hate crimes seriously and encourages anyone who is the victim of a hate crime or witnesses a hate crime to report the matter to police,” a NSW Police spokesperson said on Thursday.
Minister for Multiculturalism Steve Kamper said the alleged online threat was “despicable”.
“I have been made aware of another threat on a major Muslim mosque during the holy time of Ramadan,” Mr Kamper said.
“To invoke the horrific tragedy of the Christchurch terror attack is unconscionable and despicable. We will continue to stand by our Muslim brothers and sisters. Let me be clear – Islamophobia has no place in our state.”
The Lebanese Muslim Association (LMA) condemned the “vile” Islamophobic comments saying the incident was the latest in “the rising tide of anti-Muslim sentiment” in Australia.
“This incident occurs during the sacred month of Ramadan, a time of peace, reflection, and unity for Muslims around the world,” an LMA spokesperson said.
“Instead of fostering harmony, we see how relentless misinformation, including the caravan hoax and false accusations of anti-Semitism, fuels hate and emboldens extremists.
“When politicians and media outlets amplify these false narratives, they create an environment where such racist and Islamophobic attacks become normalised.”
Canterbury Bankstown Council Mayor Bilal El-Hayek said: “Hate speech in all its forms must not be tolerated, and those responsible must be tracked down and brought before the courts.”
“(The) reference to the Christchurch Mosque tragedy is vile, and disgusts me to my core, and has outraged many members of the community.”
It comes two weeks after Al Faisal College’s newly opened Lakemba primary school campus was the target of an alleged bomb threat made to social media.
According to the Islamophobia Register Australia, Islamophobic incidents have surged by 530 per cent since October 2023.
The LMA has criticised government inaction and media coverage of Islamophobia incidents urging the government to “enact legal protections against Islamophobia” and to “hold media to account”.
Anyone with information is urged to call Campsie Police Area Command or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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