Muslim leader put on notice for pointing out Australia’s ‘hypocrisy’ on Gaza

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – A Muslim community leader in Australia has been put on notice by his employer for pointing out the “hypocrisy” of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government regarding Gaza.

Sheikh Wesam Charkawi, convener of Muslim Vote, a community effort to back Muslim candidates in elections across Australia, and a public servant, works at Granville Boys High School in New South Wales.

The department ordered Charkawi “to work from home for allegedly breaching the NSW Education Departments' social media policy and code of ethics, ABC News reported.

The action against Charkawi followed his comments on the case of two Sydney-based nurses who allegedly threatened harm to Israeli patients in a video.

While the intent of the nurses remains unknown, Albanese described their comments as “disgusting, sickening and shameful,” adding they “did not deserve sympathy.”

However, Charkawi called the reaction to the video “selective moral outrage.”

The nurses' comments were “never meant to be literal or intended to be a threat to patient care,” he noted.

“In current times, in which genocide is unfolding live on our screens, emotions can sometimes get the better of anybody,” he added.

He criticized the "hypocrisy" of Albanese and New South Wales Health Minister Ryan Park for remaining "silent (or) hesitant when confronted with the most egregious acts of violence committed by Israel."

Nearly 48,350 people have been killed by Israel in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.

This is an “ideological project that dictates which lives are mourned, which injustices are condemned, and which atrocities are permitted to continue unchecked…this is by design,” said Charkawi. “We refuse to accept a political and media landscape where Muslims are only visible when they are being condemned, but invisible when they are being killed.”

Sydney-based lawyer Rita Jabri Markwell told Anadolu that the comments made by Charkawi were “fine.”

“But it seems his employer is upset that he is engaging in political commentary online,” Markwell said. “Because technically, he is a public servant.”

While stressing Charkawi did not breach any law, Markwell said: “His employer might allege he breached the code of ethics for employees.”

“Ironic, as he was saying the media only reports when a Muslim is being condemned,” she added.