Not one of Australia’s elite backs Pauline Hanson. Not one in media, academia, etc, that I know.
The Guardian: Q&A has defended allowing a Muslim engineer in its audience to ask Pauline Hanson a question after a front-page story in the Australian newspaper claimed he had not been properly screened.
Khaled Elomar was cleared by police and the program’s producers before being allowed to ask Hanson about Islamophaobia, the ABC has said.
The News Corp broadsheet highlighted offensive posts on Elomar’s Facebook account and raised questions about the extent to which Q&A vets its audience members.
On Monday’s Q&A, Elomar had challenged Hanson on her policies towards Muslims and the religion of Islam, which include a ban on all Muslim immigration to Australia.
On Facebook Elomar has mocked the One Nation senator, calling her “Sheikha Pauline Hanson” and depicting her wearing a hijab. One post tells Hanson to “Go Upper Cut Yourself”.
The Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie is also targeted by Elomar and referred to on Facebook as “ugly”, stupid” and “a deformed creature”.
Other posts on Elomar’s Facebook account includes criticisms of “Zionist Israel” as well as capitalism. One post said: “The Zionists and capitalists of the world ‘Go fuck yourself’ … We want peace motherfuckers.”
Another post said: “The world is waking up to the crimes of Zionism/Capitalism. The world is extremely cognisant of the bias and flawed western foreign policies. Islam has a vast international supportive audience.”
Elomar, who is an engineer by trade and works at the Caltex refinery in Kurnell, told Guardian Australia on Friday morning that he stood by his posts on Facebook, and that he believed he had been targeted by the Australian for speaking out on Q&A.
“I don’t shy away from what I wrote. I don’t shy away from my strong convictions,” he said. “We live in a democratic society, and I thought it was one that preaches doing what you want to do anything as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone.”
