Muslim leaders demand ABC apology

A group of 49 Muslim community leaders, academics, lawyers and organisations have demanded a formal apology over Q&A.

A group of 49 Muslim community leaders, academics, lawyers and organisations have described comments made by Jacqui Lambie on Monday’s episode of ABC’s Q&A a “significant breach” of the network’s values and have demanded a formal apology from the public broadcaster.

The collective, which includes members of the Australian Islamic Mission, La Trobe University Islamic Society and Islamophobia Watch Australia, started an online petition earlier today to protest the “racist, Islamophobic and crude” comments made by the independent senator on the show.

“We believe this episode was in significant breach of the ABC values of ‘Respect, we treat our audiences and each other with consideration and dignity’, and ‘Integrity, We act with trustworthiness, honesty and fairness’, that your organisation prides itself on,” the petition reads.

A slanging match between former Palmer United Party senator Lambie and engineer and author Yasmin Abdel-Magied made headlines yesterday after Ms Lambie said the young social commentator was “playing the victim” when talking about possible immigration restrictions for Muslims.

“Anyone who supports sharia law in this country should be deported,” declared Ms Lambie, who has previously said she would support a Muslim immigration ban in Australia and last week introduced a private senators’ bill which would ban the burqa in public places and commonwealth jurisdictions.

Yassmin Abdel-Magied, left, appears on ABC's QandA with host Tony Jones and Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie, right.

The argument escalated to the point where host Tony Jones stepped and told the two women: “Shouting at each other is not going to help. So please stop.”

The Muslim Collective petition says Jones should have interjected earlier to uphold the “values of respect and fairness” and make the point that “hateful speech is not allowed on the TV network”.

“If Q&A wants to invite Muslim individuals to its forum, it should be able to guarantee a safe environment for them based on trustworthiness and comfort to speak in a platform that is rarely afforded to them, especially on issues concerning them,” the petition reads.

“Lambie has the Parliament House, news outlets and press conferences as platforms to express her irresponsible and harmful views, whereas Muslim youth are largely under-represented and their voice often absent from conversations about Muslims in this country. “

An ABC spokesman said Q&A was a program designed to provide a forum for opposing viewpoints to be robustly discussed and debated.

“The program is live and unscripted and exchanges between the host, panellists and audience members are fast-paced and unpredictable,” he said. “Some viewpoints aired may challenge the audience some of the time, especially when controversial and emotive issues are being discussed, but Q&A never sets out to gratuitously offend. Jacqui Lambie is an elected Senator representing the people of Tasmania in the federal Parliament and a legitimate person to comment on these issues.

“Obviously the ABC doesn’t manage or control what federal MPs say. Host Tony Jones was an effective moderator in this particular debate.”

After the episode attracted significant discussion yesterday. Ms Lambie posted a video response on her Facebook page, standing by her remarks.