From Yahoo 7 (Australia)
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is under pressure from Australia’s Muslim leaders to cancel the visa for Dutch anti-Islamic MP Geert Wilders.
Mr Wilders will visit Australia to launch the anti-Islam party the Australian Liberty Alliance in Perth next week.
Muslim leaders told Mr Turnbull at a high-level meeting on Friday that they fear his visit could encourage anti-Islamic sentiment and prompt more ill feeling against their community.
Lebanese Muslim Association president Samier Dandan told Fairfax Media that Mr Wilders should be denied entry to Australia.
“Other countries have refused him entry and we have recently rejected Chris Brown for behaving in a certain way,” he said referring to the US singer being banned from Australia because of his history of domestic violence.
Therefore, the visa of “someone we know who will stir the pot, increase anti-Islamic sentiment and feed into those who seek to divide us” should also be cancelled, Mr Dandan said.
He questioned why the government would make the job of Muslim leaders difficult, during a time when they were reaching out to the Muslim community and stressing the need for all Australians to work together to combat violent extremism.
