Did Former Australian PM Ask Muslims to Leave the Country?
The speech mentioned in the viral message about Julia Gillard is a compiled version taken from different sources.
advertisement
CLAIM
A viral message that contains a speech attributed to former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard mentions that Muslims have been asked to leave the country. The speech reads:
‘Australian PM Julia Gillard should be made Queen of the world. What she has said requires a lot of courage and confidence.
All the countries in the world should have leaders like her.
She says, “Muslims, who are demanding Sharia law have been asked to leave Australia by wednesday because Australia sees fanatic muslims as terrorists. Each and every mosque will be searched and Muslims will cooperate with us in this process. All the Muslims who have migrated from other countries to Australia will have to adapt and change themselves as per our country and not expect us to change as per them.
If they are unable to do so, they are most welcome to leave Australia.
A lot of Australians are worried that we may be insulting a particular religion….but I assure the people of Australia that whatever is being done is for the betterment of Australia and its people.
We speak English here and not Arabic or urdu or any othe islamic language so if you want to stay in our country you better learn to speak English.
In Australia we believe in Jesus who is our God and we believe in God. Just because we believe in and follow Christianity and no other religion, does not make us Communal which is why you will find God’s Pictures and religious books everywhere. If you have any objection to this, you are free to leave Australia and go anywhere else in the world. Australia is our land, our country and this is our culture. We do not follow your religion but we respect your sentiments which is why if you want to read koran and offer namaz, please do not create noise pollution by using speakers and reading out loudly. Please DO NOT Read Koran or offer prayers in our schools, offices or public places. You can do so in the quiet of your home or in a mosque which will not inconvenience us. If you have any issues with our national flag or national anthem or our religion or our lifestyle, kindly leave Australia at this very moment and never ever return back”.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard
Please forward this message at least once.’
The message attributed to the 27th prime minister of Australia who governed the country from 2010 to 2013 has been viral on social media since 2014.
TRUE OR FALSE?
No, Julia Gillard did not deliver any such speech. The speech mentioned in the viral message is a compiled version that has been taken from different sources.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
A huge chunk of the speech is from Barry Loudermilk’s article that was first published in a local newspaper in Georgia, reported fact-checking website Snopes.
The Snopes article further reads: ‘Everything in the example from the paragraph beginning with the word ‘Quote:’ onwards is an Australianised version of text lifted from an opinion piece written in 2001 by a US Air Force veteran shortly after the 9/11 attacks on America and had nothing whatsoever to do with Australia or Julia Gillard.’
The part which reads: ‘Muslims, who are demanding Sharia law have been asked to leave Australia,’ is similar to the text mentioned in Maltese website The Independent’s article and the statement has been attributed to Former Australian treasurer Peter Costello.
Another part of the speech reads: ‘Each and every mosque will be searched and Muslims will cooperate with us in this process.’
As per The New York Times, Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard had said, "We have a right to know whether there is, within any section of the Islamic community, a preaching of the virtues of terrorism, whether any comfort or harbour is given to terrorism within that community.”
Moreover, there are no news reports that claim that Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard delivered any such speech.
This story had been earlier debunked by AltNews.
(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9910181818, or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)