Right-Wing Australian Senator Blames ’Muslim Immigration’ over New Zealand Attack

New Zealand is currently in mourning after 49 people were killed by a gunman in two mosques on Friday. The country has received an outpouring of support from the world except from one man.

An Australian right-wing senator has blamed the tragedy on “Muslim immigration.” In response, many lawmakers and politicians have condemned his utterances. 

Instead of condemning the gunman for killing 49 people in Christchurch, New Zealand, Australian Senator Fraser Anning turned the blame on Muslims. The senator shared his thoughts in a lengthy statement.

Anning said the white supremacist shooter was motivated not by bigotry but by the “increasing Muslim presence” in Australia and New Zealand. He added, “Whilst this kind of violent vigilantism can never be justified, what it highlights is the growing fear within our community, both in Australia and New Zealand, of the increasing Muslim presence.”

In the face of the tragedy that the country was facing, the politician boldly declared, “Let us be clear, while Muslims may have been the victims today, usually they are the perpetrators.” It wasn’t the first time that the senator uttered such an opinion.

Last August, he called for a “final solution” to the Muslim “immigration problem.” He even went as far as to evoke a reference to the Nazis’ “final solution” terminology which was used to target Jews during the Holocaust.

His stance was that a vote should be taken to ban Muslims from the country. Anning’s views weren’t shared by other lawmakers who, instead, spoke against the racist politician.

The politician appears to suffer from a strong sense of Islamophobia with nearly every tweet and speech containing anti-Muslim notes. Anning insisted that there was a “link between Muslim immigration and violence,” even though Friday’s mass murderer had targeted Muslims.

The politician and the shooter, a man in his late 20’s, seem to have something in common. The gunman publicly posted a 74-page manifesto to Twitter and the online forum 8chan where he repeatedly declared his hatred for Muslims who had immigrated to predominantly white countries.

Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison was one of the people who immediately denounced Anning’s views on the terror attack. Morrison said, “The remarks by Senator Fraser Anning blaming the murderous attacks by a violent, right-wing, extremist terrorist in New Zealand on immigration are disgusting.”