A prominent member of Australia's Islamic community is calling for calm after protests at a Halal food festival in Western Sydney turned violent.
One woman was arrested when demonstrators clashed at the Fairfield-based Halal Food Expo over the weekend.
Anti-sharia protestors had set up outside the expo when they were confronted by another group of demonstrators pushing an anti-racism agenda.
The anti-sharia group, The Party for Freedom, had police permission to protest and were there to express their opposition to Halal certification and Sharia law.
Their opponents, Anti-Facist Action Sydney, said they turned up unannounced to take a stand against racist behaviour. A member of the group told SBS they initiated the confrontation, but said they didn’t start the violence.
Keyser Trad from the Islamic Friendship Association said he was disturbed by the pictures of the fight.
Mr Trad told SBS that the violence was “ugly”.
“I appeal to people to just be calm and level headed and try to resolve these issues through dialogue and through education,” he said.
“…The best way to deal with it is to provide information to them, to educate them, allow them to take part in some Halal food and taste for themselves.”
Police were on standby at the event but that didn't stop the confrontation, which saw a 28-year-woman from the anti-Facist group arrested and later released without charge.
