Q Society of Australia

Alma Road Community House petition, East St Kilda, Melbourne

In 2011 Q Society took issue with a number of Muslim men that had been meeting for some time at the Alma Road Community House in East St Kilda for Friday prayers. The Port Philip council published plans to increase the number of persons allowed to attend prayers at the Alma Road Community House from 40 to 100 and rededicate the house as formal 'place of assembly'. Q Society circulated a petition to object to the proposed increase and re-dedication and claimed that the petition had attracted about 600 signatories.

Several Jewish community leaders in Melbourne opposed the petition. Deborah Stone of the B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC), which actively counters prejudice against Jews (including from fundamentalist Muslims), stated that the fears of the Q Society were greatly exaggerated: "Assuming Muslims are terrorists is the same as expecting that Italians running a restaurant will be using it as a Mafia hideout, or that the local Catholic school is sheltering a paedophile priest." The Port Phillip Council has strongly supported social diversity and multiculturalism, and the Muslim prayer group had not caused concern until the Q Society intervened. The council later approved its own revised planning proposal.

1st Symposium on Liberty and Islam in Australia

From 7 to 10 March 2014 the society held a symposium in Melbourne which hosted numerous controversial anti-islam and far-right speakers. Speakers included Gert Wilders, who appeared via video link criticising "politicians who don’t share our values and foolishly declare all cultures are equal". Wilders was referring to Islam, suggesting that Muslim cultures are inferior to non-Muslim cultures.

As with a previous visit by Wilders in 2013, a number of Australian newspapers refused to publish advertisements for the event.

February 2017 Fundraiser

Overt and extreme Islamophobic speech and clearly stated praise for the murder of homosexuals was documented at the Thursday 9 February Q Society fundraising dinner, with controversial guest speaker Larry Pickering stating that "If they (Muslims) are in the same street as me, I start shaking." and that "They are not all bad, they do chuck pillow-biters off buildings." adding that "I can't stand Muslims". The cartoonist also auctioned an overtly Islamophobic work depicting the rape of a woman in a niqab by her son-in-law, insinuating that Muslims are incestuous rapists. Another Larry Pickering cartoon auctioned at the fundraiser depicted an Imam as a pig (in Islam the consumption of all pork products is considered haram or forbidden), being spit roasted, with a "halal certified" stamp on its rump. A case of wine called "72 Virgins" was also up for grabs, along with a signed photograph of Dame Joan Sutherland. Kirralie Smith has denied supporting Pickerings statements, however Smith has reiterated parts of the speech stating that "there are Muslims that actually do throw gays off buildings!" In February 2017, Cory Bernardi and George Christensen (politician) attracted criticism for speaking at the Q Society of Australia. The event received protests who called the event "racist".

Gavin Boby lecture tour

Outspoken critic of Islam and anti-mosque campaigner, UK lawyer Gavin Boby toured Australia on invitation of Q Society in August/September 2012. Boby is the director of the British Law and Freedom Centre, an organisation which provides pro-bono legal assistance to people who oppose planning applications for mosques in their neighborhood.

Geert Wilders lecture tour

The Q Society invited the Dutch politician Geert Wilders to tour Australia. Wilders opposes further Islamic immigration to the Netherlands. During August and September 2012, the Australian Government delayed the issue of a visa. One day after Wilders and Q Society eventually postponed the tour due to the ongoing uncertainty, the then Minister Chris Bowen MP (Labor) granted the visa to Wilders. The tour eventually took place in February 2013 with speaking events by Geert Wilders and Sam Solomon scheduled for 19 February in Melbourne, 20 February in Perth and 22 February in Sydney. The tour was overshadowed by a total of 30 venues refusing or cancelling bookings.

The Premier of Western Australia, Colin Barnett (Liberal), stated Geert Wilders was not welcome in his State. Islamic leaders in Sydney and Melbourne recommended that these talks be ignored, so as to avoid or minimize the possibility of violent protests. An estimated 200 protestors including members of Socialist Alternative, picketed the Melbourne event.

The El-Mouelhy defamation case

The Q Society are being sued for defamation over their claims the Islamic certification industry is corrupt and funds “the push for sharia law in Australia”. Ongoing legal proceedings against senior members of the Melbourne-based Q Society and Kirralie Smith, who runs the website HalalChoices, began after a speach was given at a Q Society event, that portrayed El-Mouelhy as “part of a conspiracy to destroy Western civilisation from within” and “reasonably suspected of providing financial support to terrorist organisations”. El-Mouelhy claims he has been defamed in relation to the proceeds of halal certification. This case has now been settled out of court.

In response to the claims made by Kirralie Smith and HalalChoices, officials from the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission have stated that the commission has been on “heightened lookout” for links between halal certifiers and terrorism since the issue surfaced last year, but has “not found any direct linkages”, an inquiry has heard. Furthermore, a senate inquiry into food certification asserted that there was “no link” between the religious approval process and extremist groups. It recommended that the federal government increase its oversight of domestic halal certifiers to address fraudulent conduct in the sector. It said that it had heard, "credible reports suggesting that the lack of regulation has been unscrupulously exploited". In tabling the report, committee chairman Sam Dastyari said, "Some certifiers are nothing more than scammers." The committee recommended a single halal certification authority. The committee in recommending clearer labelling, specifically referred to the need for meat processors to label products sourced from animals subject to religious slaughter.

As of February 27, 2017, as part of a settlement agreement, Kirralie Smith and the Q Society have publicly apologized and agreed to display notice of the settlement on their respective websites for one year. The case was settled out of court.

Commentary and Criticism

Critics of Q Society suggest the organisation is responsible for hate-mongering against Muslims, describing Q Society as a modern example of 'organised intolerance'. Citing the view that most Muslims have integrated successfully in Australian society, critics such as Sydney-based journalist and writer Sarah Malik have suggested that the activities of a comparatively small number of radicals and militants should not give rise to criticism of the Islamic religion.

The organisation has been critical of the proposal to construct a $3 million mosque and Islamic community centre in the rural Victorian centre of Bendigo. Opponents of the mosque displayed anti-mosque information produced by Q Society at a meeting of the Bendigo City Council. During council meetings Q Society distributed pamphlets that made numerous inaccurate claims about mosques that included statements such as “A mosque is not like a church or a temple” and “(mosques) are a seat of government, a command centre, a court, and in some cases used as military training centres and arms depots”. State MP Jacinta Allan described the move as an attempt to divide the community, stating that "Bendigo has a proud history of tolerance and diversity dating back to the gold rush era, and we'll work hard to preserve and build upon it."