Tony Burke forced to leave prayer event; unauthorised flyers label him ‘racist’

Immigration Minister Tony Burke says he was forced to leave an Islamic prayer event on the advice of federal police when a group arrived to confront him.

“After speaking to the Australian Federal Police, given the nature of the message that had been circulated, and the fact that I was there to speak to the community, not the people who had travelled some distance for a different purpose, I decided to attend on another occasion,” Burke said.

An unauthorised flyer claimed Tony Burke is a “racist immigration minister”.

The moment was just one in a spate of incidents in his electorate, including an unauthorised flyer which labelled him a “racist immigration minister”, calling on residents of Burke’s diverse western Sydney electorate, Watson, to change their vote.

The AFP is reporting a surge in threats against parliamentarians across the political spectrum, which have almost doubled in the past three years.

Last Friday Burke was invited to speak at a Ramadan prayer event at Parry Park in Lakemba, the heart of his western Sydney electorate. When Burke arrived, a text message circulated among certain members of the Muslim community telling them to come from all over the city to confront Burke.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“It would be a great service if brothers can come to Parry Park today and hold them to account and showing [sic] them that they are not welcome.”

One of the men who attended the event posted on the activist account Stand 4 Palestine, which The Australian reported has links to the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, claiming that Burke “went scurrying like a rat”.

Burke said around 15 men turned up to the event who were not usually seen at the Parry Park prayers.

The Australian government broke from the United States and Israel last year when it backed a United Nations resolution recognising the “permanent sovereignty” of the Palestinian people over resources in the territories occupied by Israel in June 1967, which include East Jerusalem.

Burke is facing a backlash in his electorate, which is 23.4 per cent Muslim, from people dissatisfied with Labor’s handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In an unauthorised flyer, first reported by The Australian Financial Review, Burke is called a “racist immigration minister”.

It also claims Burke has not called on Israel to allow “unimpeded humanitarian aid in Gaza”, or “called for a comprehensive arms embargo to Israel”.

The incidents come as Burke and fellow minister Jason Clare, of neighbouring Blaxland, face challenges from independents backed by group The Muslim Vote.

It is not clear how many voters saw the flyer in his seat of Watson, which includes culturally diverse areas in Sydney’s western suburbs such as Lakemba, home of Sydney’s famous Ramadan night markets.

Muslims account for 23.4 per cent of Watson’s population, and 17.7 per cent of residents are Arabic speakers.

“I’ve fought racism and bigotry my entire career,” Burke said.

Burke noted he led the Walk for Respect in Lakemba in response to the previous Coalition government’s attempts to “lower protections against racism and bigotry”.

The Muslim Vote was formed in 2024 amid anger within the Muslim community in response to what was deemed a lack of criticism of Israel by the Labor government. The pro-Palestinian group backs candidates but is not itself a registered party.

This masthead does not suggest The Muslim Vote was involved in creating the flyer.

A banner held by activists in immigration minister Tony Burke’s electorate. Credit: Instagram

In a post shared by activist group Sydney Palestine Actions, which tagged Muslim Votes Matter and The Muslim Vote, two people are seen holding a banner saying “Burke supports genocide” outside Lakemba Mosque.

Several of Burke’s posters are hung from the banner, which was previously seen at a protest outside his electoral office.

The Instagram post said: “You can’t hide from us t-dog, we’re gonna be your shadow for the next two months.”

Clare has also had corflutes defaced – a sticker reading “don’t vote genocide” was seen on one of his posters.

Dr Ziad Basyouny, the Muslim Votes Matter-backed independent for Watson, told the Financial Review that he was not responsible for the flyer, but said the sentiment it reflected shouldn’t be ignored.

Basyouny said while he doesn’t believe Burke has served his community well, he also doesn’t believe that the minister is a racist.

Basyouny’s campaign manager, Dr Mohamad Assoum, told this masthead the campaign understood why Burke chose to leave the Parry Park prayer event.

“Anyone would be afraid if those messages were sent around about them,” he said.

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