Australia PM heckled at Sydney mosque Ramadan event

Australia's prime minister has been heckled during an event at a Sydney mosque marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Anthony Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke were at Lakemba Mosque - one of the largest in Australia - after being invited by community leaders to attend Eid prayers on Friday morning, local time.

Several attendees accused the pair of being "genocide supporters", shouting "boo" and "get out of here" as a mosque leader gave a speech calling for the government to better engage with Muslim Australians.

There is deep upset within much of Australia's Muslim community over the government's response to the Israel-Gaza war and rising Islamophobia at home.

A man who was shouting at Albanese was removed from the mosque by police but later released without charge and told to move on, according to news agency Australian Associated Press.

After the speech finished, the prime minister made his way out of the mosque through the crowds and continued to be shouted at by several people, with one asking: "Why is he here? Get him out of here! It's a disgrace".

Shortly after the event finished, the Lebanese Muslim Association - which operates the mosque - released a statement saying Albanese was welcome at the prayers and that they would "continue to open" their doors.

"We understand that emotions are high, particularly given the ongoing suffering in Gaza and the devastation in Lebanon. These are not distant issues for our community," it said.

"But we also need to be clear. Choosing to engage with the elected leadership of this country is not a betrayal of those concerns. It is how we give them a voice."

The mosque also said, in a social media post, that Friday's event was the first time the prime minister had been invited to attend prayers since 7 October 2023, the start of the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Albanese also posted about the visit on social media, writing that it was "an honour" to join the prayers, alongside smiling photos of him greeting worshippers.

Earlier, mosque spokesman Gamel Kheir told attendees that "we can neither totally disengage nor invite politicians for some cheap token photo opportunity".

Friday's incident is not the first time politicians have received mixed receptions at Eid events in recent years, with critics saying the religious celebrations should not involve politics.

During last year's federal election campaign, Jason Wood - from the conservative Liberal Party - had to be escorted out of an Eid event after he was heckled at a Melbourne mosque.

In recent months, Lakemba Mosque in Sydney's southwest has received several threatening letters, prompting police to investigate the matter.