Islamic leaders must stop ‘the wolves coming among the sheep’, Scott Morrison says at cafe reopening
Scott Morrison has used the reopening of Pellegrini’s espresso bar to dismiss an Islamic leader’s claim he is scapegoating Muslims.
Scott Morrison says Islamic leaders must stop “the wolves coming among the sheep” after the spiritual leader of a centre frequented by the Bourke Street terrorist blasted the “bloody Prime Minister” for his comments after Friday’s attack.
The Prime Minister’s comments came at a doorstop media conference outside Pellegrini’s Espresso Bar in Melbourne’s CBD this morning, where Mr Morrison had just paid his respects to slain co-owner Sisto Malaspina.
The beloved Bourke St identity and icon for the city’s cafe culture was killed on Friday by terrorist Hassan Kalif Shire Ali.
Mr Morrison dismissed criticism from Sheik Mohammed Omran, whose Hume Islamic Youth Centre Shire Ali attended for prayer meetings. The spiritual leader told The Australian the Prime Minister was scapegoating the Islamic community for Friday’s attack.
.@ScottMorrisonMP: If there are people in a religious community that are bringing in hateful, violent, extremist ideologies into the community you’ve got to call it out because it will take root.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) November 13, 2018
MORE: https://t.co/CJirrbu3JY #SkyLiveNow pic.twitter.com/wRbWGHYkWY
The Prime Minister also said it was the job of religious leaders to keep their communities safe from extremists.
“I’m not going to get into personalities … the violent, extremist, Islamic terrorist who did this on this street was radicalised in this country,” Mr Morrison said.
“He wasn’t radicalised in a suburban mall, he wasn’t radicalised in a classroom, he was radicalised in a community here in Melbourne. We all have a job to do to keep Australians safe.
“It’s the job of communities to protect themselves and to keep the wolves coming among the sheep in their own religious communities.”
.@ScottMorrisonMP: The violent extremist Islamic terrorist was radicalised in this country.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) November 13, 2018
It’s the job of communities to protect themselves and keep the wolves from coming in amongst the sheep.
MORE: https://t.co/CJirrbu3JY #SkyLiveNow pic.twitter.com/q1DttKUyCP
Mr Morrison reiterated he would “not cop the excuses” for Islamic terrorism and that religious leaders had to help security services who are following more than 400 suspected extremists.
And he dismissed the idea that migration was a factor in Shire Ali’s attack, as he had been in Australia since he was five years old.
Tears at sombre reopening
Meanwhile, Melbourne culinary institution Pellegrini’s reopened for the first time since 74-year-old co-owner Sisto Malaspina was fatally stabbed in Friday’s terror attack.
The espresso bar at the top of Bourke St gave free coffee to Melburnians in memory of Mr Malaspina, who had welcomed customers there since 1974.
A steady stream of flowers and cards continued to be left by mourners. Offerings left from previous days had been passed on to the Malaspina family, — who donated the floral tributes to aged care homes and hospitals to “brighten up others’ lives”.
A note from Pellegrini’s staff to Mr Malaspina read:
“Dear Sisto, Thank you for making us your staff members as part of your life. You always looked after us like family. You always said to have fun at work because we all worked so hard. Pellegrini’s was your life. We will never forget all that you have done and given us all. We will love you for ever and ever in our hearts. Rest in peace. Condolences to Malaspina family. Always loved, never forgotten.”
Mr Malaspina’s family said: “In honour of dad’s memory the wonderful staff at Pellegrini’s are determined to continue his legacy with the same passion.”
Mr Morrison and Victorian Opposition Leader Matthew Guy were among those to lay flowers and write in the condolence book outside Pellegrini’s.
PM @ScottMorrisonMP & Vic OL @MatthewGuyMP visit Pellegrinis to lay flowers and write in a condolence book for Sisto Malaspina #vicvotes #springst #auspol pic.twitter.com/CJ79zpE04L
— Rachel Baxendale (@rachelbaxendale) November 12, 2018
“Dear Sisto, thank you for your wonderful gift to our nation and the people of Melbourne,” Mr Morrison wrote. “You will always be loved and always missed.
“We will live each day thankful for the freedom and love of life you always demonstrated with your smile and laughter and service.”
Mr Guy wrote: “Sisto loved Melbourne and Melbourne loved Sisto. Rest in Peace.”
Mr Morrison said the response from Melburnians to the tragedy of Mr Malaspina’s death had been “inspirational”.
“This is an amazing place. It’s got such a heart to it, such a soul, and Sisto I think captured that spirit and that soul in a way that it would be hard to replicate,” he said.
“The Sistos of Melbourne built this city, particularly after the Second World War. They created the businesses, they raised their families, they worked hard. They were honest people. They looked after each other. They were caring. They were compassionate.
“This is the great city it is today because of people just like Sisto.
“The best way we respond to these horrific and radicalist, extremist, Islamist attacks, is to do the very thing that they would have us stop doing and that would be to stop smiling, like Sisto would every day, to stop living a life full of joy and full of compassion and full of freedom, like Sisto did every single day.”
To embrace that, he said, would be the greatest tribute to pay Mr Malaspina.
“It also says to those who want to have none of this, and would have us live very differently, that we won’t cop that … and you will never take that from us,” he said.
Mr Guy was at Pellegrinis a fortnight ago with colleagues, and extended his sympthy to Mr Malaspina’s family, and staff of the “Melbourne institution that we love”.
“But I want to say again as a lifelong Melburnian, enough is enough for our city,” he added.
“We will not accept, whether it’s terrorism or violent crime, that this is going to be the norm for a city of five million-plus people.”
Here's what @ScottMorrisonMP and @MatthewGuyMP wrote in the condolence book for Sisto #auspol #springst pic.twitter.com/owPbDn3DlT
— Rachel Baxendale (@rachelbaxendale) November 12, 2018
Melburnian Claude Sanicki, 70, said he had been coming to Pellegrini’s since the 1970s and had come to pay his respects.
“He was the first one in the city to have a cappuccino machine,” Mr Sanicki said.
“I have so many happy memories of coming here, of bringing my kids here.
“His first grandchild was born less than a week before he died. It’s just so sad.”
State funeral for a ‘beautiful man’
The Governor of Victoria will speak at the state funeral of Mr Malaspina on behalf of all Victorians to pay tribute to a “beautiful man”.
Premier Daniel Andrews had spoken with Mr Malaspina’s family over the past two days and was pleased they had taken up his offer of a state funeral.
“So many Melburnians knew him and even if you had not spent a lot of time with him, you had a sense you knew him because he is the father of our cafe culture. He is the father of that kind of generosity of spirit right throughout our hospitality industry that we value and cherish so much.,” Mr Andrews said.
The state funeral will be held at St Patrick’s Cathedral in East Melbourne at 10:30am, next Tuesday, November 20.
Additional reporting: AAP
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