In brief
- Hanson took aim at Lakemba — home to a large Muslim community — claiming some people didn't feel they could go there.
- The leader earlier faced backlash after she suggested on Monday that there are no "good" Muslims.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson's singling out of a western Sydney suburb is "another attempt to be divisive", its local mayor said.
Hanson on Wednesday took aim at Lakemba — home to a large Muslim community — claiming some people didn't feel they could go there.
It comes as the senator faces earlier backlash over comments she made during an interview on Sky News on Monday, where she said there were "no good Muslims" — a claim partially walked back as she criticised Lakemba.
The remarks were strongly rejected by Islamic faith groups, as well as by Labor and Coalition politicians.
Hanson told ABC News Breakfast she did not "genuinely believe" what she had said while discussing the so-called "ISIS brides" — a group of Australian women and children allegedly linked to the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) group, who are seeking to return to Australia from a displacement camp in northern Syria.
However, she only offered a conditional apology.
"If I've offended anyone out there that doesn't believe in Sharia law or multiple marriages or wants to bring ISIS brides in or people from Gaza who believes in the caliphate ... then I apologise to you for my comment."
"But in general, that's what they want: a world caliphate and I'm not going to apologise," she said.
In the same interview, Hanson claimed there were "certain" suburbs "people can't go into". When pressed further, she named Lakemba, shifting her language to describe it as a suburb "they don't want to" go into.
"And I've been there myself in Lakemba," Hanson said. "You feel unwanted, you're not wanted to be there."
Bilal El-Hayek, the mayor of Canterbury-Bankstown Council, later told Sydney's 2GB radio Hanson's remarks were "another attempt to be divisive and inflame a situation at a time when the country needs to be coming together and to be united".
El-Hayek said Hanson — and all Australians — were welcome in Lakemba and suggested her remarks may have been sparked by an invitation to the Ramadan night market that he said he had sent her on Monday.
"Yesterday I personally invited her to come to Lakemba," El-Hayek told 2GB. "I sent her a letter, to come out and experience our Lakemba Ramadan food market."
El-Hayek said Canterbury-Bankstown was "a multicultural, multi-faith" community, and more than one million people were expected to attend the night markets.
"The majority are actually not of the Islamic faith," El-Hayek, who described himself as a "proud Aussie and a proud Muslim", said.
"We all know that food and sport unite, and this is what we're doing. We bring people together to enjoy each other's company."
Islamophobia envoy invites Hanson for iftar
Meanwhile, Australia's special envoy to combat Islamophobia, Aftab Malik, has also invited Pauline Hanson to join him for an iftar meal this Ramadan in the wake of the One Nation leader's recent attack on Muslim people.
Malik said he would like to meet with Hanson and offer her an opportunity to ask questions about the Quran, women in Islam, violent extremism, Sharia law, the different types of jihad and anything else she would like to know.
"As the holy month of Ramadan is almost upon us, it is a time for reflection, restraint, and compassion. It is then challenging to listen calmly to the sweeping generalisations and negative stereotypes about Islam and Muslim Australians," Malik said in a statement posted on social media on Tuesday evening.
"Islam asks us to think, ponder, and reflect. The Prophet Muhammad told his flock to 'speak beautifully' to others, reminding us not to trample upon people's dignity. The Qur'an also challenges Muslims to respond to those individuals who might be overwhelmed by the weight of their convictions, with peace."
"These values are embodied by Muslim Australians who serve in hospitals, classrooms, small businesses, the armed forces, and public institutions every day."
He extended a "genuine invitation" to Hanson to join him for iftar, the evening meal eaten by Muslims to break their fast during the month of Ramadan, which starts this week.
During Ramadan, observed by billions of Muslims around the world, many will abstain from food and drink from the break of dawn until sunset.
When the sun sets, many families will gather to break their fasts together with iftar. The practice is intended to encourage emotional and spiritual cleansing, introspection, and understanding of the experiences of those less fortunate.
"Ms Hanson is welcome to ask questions directly," Malik said. "My door is open."
Hanson, during her Sky News appearance, said the Australian women and children in Syria shouldn't be allowed to return, calling for tighter controls on immigration to Australia and a "tough stance on Islam", conflating all Muslims with extremists.
"Their religion concerns me because what it says in the Quran ... they hate Westerners," she said.
"And that's what it's all about.
"You say, 'Oh, well, there's good Muslims out there'. Well, I'm sorry, how can you tell me there are good Muslims?"
On Wednesday morning, Nationals senator Matt Canavan said Hanson wasn't fit to lead a major political party, calling the remarks by his fellow Queensland senator "totally un-Australian", divisive and inflammatory.
"Clearly, I think she went too far, and now she won't apologise because she doesn't do that," he said on Channel Nine.
"She's not fit to lead a major political party with these types of ill-disciplined statements that she won't correct that insult [to] hundreds of thousands of Australians."
Australian National Imams Council president Shadi Alsuleiman strongly rejected the firebrand senator's comments to Sky News, saying they reflected a serious misunderstanding of Islam and the Muslim community.
"For many years, she has made inaccurate and harmful statements based on misinformation rather than genuine engagement," he told the Australian Associated Press.
"Muslims have contributed positively to the growth and advancement of this nation and continue to do so with pride and commitment."
Hanson dismissed the criticism from Islamic groups.
"Of course they're going to say that, but I've heard more hateful things coming out of the mouths of imams giving their sermons on the streets of Sydney, and other places in Australia, but nothing's been said about that," she told ABC News Breakfast.
— With reporting by the Australian Associated Press.
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