By Jill Fraser
MELBOURNE
Tempers flared and mounted police intervened as protesters took to the streets to march against a combined force of anti-Islam groups across Australia on Saturday.
Marchers draped in the Australia flag carried signs screaming anti-Islam messages such as “Sharia Law equals Pedophilia," and "God Save Us” in Sydney, while in Perth a line of mounted police and other officers, some with dogs, kept opposing sides apart.
In Melbourne, The Age reported that one-on-one screaming matches occurred that occasionally broke into pushing and shoving.
Tattooed, bald thugs spat at cameras. Now and then a stray punch or two was thrown.
A media release on behalf of Rise Up Australia -- a group participating under a "Reclaim Australia" banner -- stated that Saturday's "grass roots movement" started off with just a few Australians who "were sick of staying silent while Islam, through Multiculturalism, was slowly but surely taking away... rights and freedoms."
Kuranda Seyit -- a spokesperson for the Islamic Council of Victoria -- told The Anadolu Agency that the movement's "Reclaim Australia" slogan just made no sense.
“What are they reclaiming,” asked Seyit, who also spoke Saturday at a pro-Islam rally in Sydney.
“The only thing I can see that’s been lost is their dignity, their moral compass and their self-respect. It’s an insult to Australia, which prides itself on its multiculturalism and tolerance."
Such feelings were shared in a demonstrator's banner that depicted an Aboriginal flag.
“Not yours to Reclaim!” it stated.
Reclaim Australia cite the wearing of the burqa, Islamic extremism and "fear that sharia law is on the rise" in Australia as issues of concern.
Counter-protesters argue the movement is anti-Muslim and Islamophobic. Clare Fester, who organized a counter-rally in Sydney, told The Anadolu Agency that Reclaim is just “racist and divisive.”
The movement's spokesperson Catherine Brennan denied the accusation Saturday, telling AA that Reclaim Australia is “simply patriotic.”
“We want to return to traditional Australian values,” she said. “We want to go back to the time when we can walk into the Lindt Cafe and not be concerned that we’re going to be blown up or shot.”
From Dec. 15-16, a lone gunman professing support for Daesh killed two hostages at Sydney's Lindt Cafe during a two-day siege.
Organizers claim over 700 supporters rallied for Reclaim Australia in Sydney, close to 2,000 in Melbourne, and over 500 on the Gold Coast and in Adelaide.
Counter-protesters say their numbers were on par.
Brennen told AA that two Reclaim speakers “pulled out because they got death threats,” while reports said four people were arrested in total -- three in Melbourne and one in Hobart.
Police shut down the Melbourne rally “for public safety,” according to the movement, mounted officers brought in to separate both sets of protesters.
“Leftists attacked attendees holding flags and were held back by cordon lines and police on horseback - 500 in the rally area and 2,000 more unable to get past the left agitators,” the group claimed on its Facebook page.
Islamic Council of Victoria spokesperson Seyit said that the tone of both rallies became more confrontational when police came face to face with protesters.
It was clear that they had instructions not to allow the pro-Muslim protesters to get near the Reclaim rally, he added. “Nobody challenged them.”
He told AA that it’s important to keep anti-Islamic sentiment in Australia in perspective.
“The support base of anti-Islamic groups, trying to stir up trouble, is small. They’re playing on people’s fears and trying to create the impression that Muslims are dangerous and will change the Australian way of life.”
The group is doing little more than “fear mongering and exploiting the situation that the Islamic State [Daesh] has created," he added.
Reclaim Australia's Twitter account was hacked prior to Saturday's marches.
A protester using the name Jeremy posted messages about drugs, dates with a girl called "Shazza" and xenophobia.
He claimed -- in what he called an "official statement" -- that the rallies had been cancelled, and posted a tweet saying, "whats wrong with muslims anyway I dun get it."
"I like vegemite on toast, it's great in a toastie after a big night who gives a sh*t if it's halal," another of his tweets added.
Vegemite is an iconic Australian slightly bitter sandwich spread made from brewer's yeast. It is known as Marmite in Europe.
