Australia: Victorian Muslims Snub Premier’s Iftar over Gaza Stance
The Islamic Council of Victoria, the state’s top Islamic body, has also informed Premier Jacinta Allan’s office that it will not attend the event.
An open letter, signed by eight community members and widely circulated among Victoria’s Muslims, urges a boycott of the premier’s Iftar this year, saying that the Labor Party of has been indifferent to the “live-streamed genocide of the Palestinian people.”
The letter says the boycott will send a “clear message” to Premier Allan about the Muslim community’s dissatisfaction with her and her party’s position on the Gaza crisis.
The premier has hosted the Iftar dinner every year since 2015 during Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims.
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The event usually attracts prominent Muslim and non-Muslim leaders and politicians.
Mohammad Helmy, the main author of the open letter, said the organisations that endorsed the letter had already decided to skip the event, The Age reported on Tuesday.
Nevertheless, a spokesperson for the premier said the Iftar dinner would proceed as planned.
“We understand the heartbreak that Palestinian and Muslim Victorians are feeling as the Gaza conflict continues, and the premier supports the prime minister in calling for a humanitarian ceasefire,” she said.
She said the premier’s Iftar dinners were a valued tradition in Victoria, and that the government was working closely with Victoria’s Islamic leaders to ensure that everyone’s views were respected.
Source: Agencies
