Australians have been left shocked by footage of thousands of Muslims surrounding St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne during an Islamic parade.
The crowds gathered in the city centre to observe Ashura, a day of mourning where Shia Muslims worldwide to commemorate the death of Imam Hussein, and marched from the Treasury Gardens, past St Patrick’s, to Parliament House for a speech, and then on to Spring Street.
Photos and videos of the parade show a huge crowd of black-clad mourners praying in the park before heading along the parade route, many with Palestinian flags, waving banners and moving in unison while singing and chanting.
One video taken from the car shows the crowds surrounding the Catholic cathedral, while chanting in a foreign language is played from a loudspeaker.
“This is absolutely insane. An entire legion of Muslim men encircled Melbourne’s Cathedral,” the video caption on X read.
“The level of intimidation Christians would have felt to enter their Holy place is off the charts. This cannot be allowed to happen.”
Hundreds of other Australians agreed, with many saying that a similar march by other groups would soon be shut down by the authorities.
“Two tier policing right here. Can you imagine a march of (far right) Christians encircling the Tarneit Mosque? The police would be all over it,” said one person.
“They are showing disrespect to Christians who accepted them with open arms as migrants in Australia. So wrong!” said another.
“Let Christians encircle a synagogue, and you’d see public order police, attack dogs, tear gas, batons, rubber bullets and arrests galore. Why is that?” asked a third.
Labor MP Julian Hill, who is a homosexual and would therefore face the death penalty in several countries where Ashura is observed such as Iran, addressed a crowd of Muslims for Ashura on Sunday.
“Ashura is a day of commemoration in Islam, the 10th day of Muharram. Marked differently depending on tradition, Shia Muslims remember the martyrdom of Imam Hussein. A story that echoes down the centuries,” the Assistant Minister for Citizenship, Customs and Multicultural Affairs wrote on social media.
“Australians are the most diverse people and we are strengthened when we understand more about each other’s beliefs and heritage. You don’t have to be Muslim to reflect and learn from stories of sacrifice, justice and freedom from tyranny.”
Header image: Left, right, crowds outside the cathedral (X).
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