Australia cancels Bangladeshi preacher Shaykh Ahmadullah’s visa, speaking tour scrapped: Report

Australian authorities have cancelled the visa of Bangladeshi preacher Shaykh Ahmadullah over alleged anti-Semitic remarks, effectively halting his planned speaking engagements in the country, according to a report by The Daily Telegraph.

The Daily Telegraph reported that Ahmadullah’s visa was revoked on Sunday (5 April) after he had already departed Sydney, preventing his re-entry into Australia. 

The Department of Home Affairs is currently reviewing whether a permanent ban will be imposed, with a decision expected early this week.

As a result, Ahmadullah was unable to attend the Sydney leg of the “A Legacy of Faith” speaking tour, where he was scheduled to headline an event in Punchbowl on Saturday evening, organised by the Islamic Practice and Dawah Circle (IPDC).

The remaining events of the tour – scheduled in Canberra on Monday, Adelaide on Friday, and Perth on Saturday next week – have also been cancelled, according to the organisers.

The move follows controversy over remarks attributed to Ahmadullah, in which he allegedly targeted Jewish people. In a video cited by the Telegraph, he said, “A certain scholar once said … even if two fish fight, you should understand that there is a Jewish conspiracy behind it.”

“That is how despicable [Jews] are … All the unrest in the world, they are puppeteers,” he added.

Assistant Immigration Minister Matt Thistlethwaite said the Australian government maintains a strict stance against hate speech. 

“We’ve no tolerance whatsoever for people who espouse anti-Semitic or Islamophobic views, and there’s powers within the Migration Act for us to deny visas,” he told Sky News.

Responding to criticism over how the visa was initially granted, Thistlethwaite cited a similar case involving another Bangladeshi cleric. “When we became aware of his comments, we cancelled his visa,” he said, referring to Mizanur Rahman Azhari.

Azhari was deported earlier and has since been barred from re-entering Australia after remarks attributed to him described Nazi leader Adolf

Hitler as “divine punishment” for Jews and blamed Jewish people for various global issues, including AIDS.

Opposition home affairs spokesperson Jonno Duniam criticised the government’s handling of the situation, calling it reactive. 

“Cancelling a visa after the fact does nothing to protect communities here in Australia who may be the subjects of hatred from these despicable individuals Labour are letting in,” he said.

“Once again, it has taken public pressure and community concern to force action that should have been taken before this individual ever set foot in Australia,” he added, concluding, “It should never have got to this point.”