About 200 people turned out to a forum in Buddina on Sharia law and political Islam, among them Buderim State MP Steve Dickson.
Sunshine Coast Safe Communities Inc president Ron Hutchins got proceedings under way at Kawana Community Hall yesterday before guest speakers, including Iraq veteran and controversial identity Bernard Gaynor, addressed the gathering.
It was a tightly-run affair, with ID required upon entry and media restricted to shooting from the rear of the event, to avoid identifying those in the audience.
Those with objections to the views being presented were put on notice prior to the start of speeches, to leave if they simply intended to disrupt proceedings.
The first address came from Chris Newman, who warned of what he said was Islam’s hidden goal to impose Sharia law upon Australia and make its residents subservient, likening Islam to a “Trojan Horse”.
“Our neighbourhood communities are at risk,” Mr Newman said.
Mr Newman called on Sunshine Coast Council to reject a proposal for a mosque in Maroochydore, telling the crowd there was “no guarantee that it wouldn’t be taken over by an extremist group”.
“Every mosque is a stronghold of Sharia law, whether they admit it or not,” he said.
Prior to the seminar, Mr Dickson told the media his argument was not with mosques, Muslims or religion, but with Sharia law.
Mr Newman criticised former Attorney-General and member for Kawana Jarrod Bleijie for treating Sharia law and mosques as separate issues.
“Sharia law is something that I believe Australians don’t want to see in this country,” Mr Dickson said.
“It’s not right to treat women and girls the way they treat them.
“It’s not right to kill somebody if you don’t believe in their religion; I just think that is insane.
“If we allow that (Sharia law) to slowly creep into our country we’re going to have big trouble and we need to do what we can to stop it now.”
Former Australian Army Major Bernard Gaynor, whose commission in the army reserve was terminated because of his public criticism of policies in the armed services, said there were real risks to the Australian way of life in allowing Islam to establish itself domestically.
“People who follow Islamic rule, Sharia law, they don’t follow that rule whether the government implements it or not, they follow it because they want to live by it.”