Liberal senator says Muslim community should 'take some responsibility' after Bondi attack

Andrew Bragg, the Liberal shadow minister for housing and homelessness, said Australia’s Muslim community should "take some responsibility" for the Bondi terror attack and urged the federal government to ensure funding does not go to "hate preachers".

Bragg made the comments on ABC’s RN program, saying the West had been "too nice for its own good" and that "there has been a mutation of Islam in Australia and other Western countries where they have sought to kill other citizens." The remarks followed a speech in Israel by former prime minister Scott Morrison, reported by The Australian, in which Morrison proposed an accreditation system for imams with an "enforceable disciplinary authority" and said some Middle Eastern countries were doing a better job curtailing radical political Islam.

Muslim leaders and organisations have condemned the Bondi attack and attended vigils. Threats and hate speech against Muslim Australians have surged in the wake of the attack, with one mosque receiving dozens of offensive phone calls and reports of people being targeted in the street.

It is not clear from reports whether the federal government will act on Bragg’s calls. Reports do not say whether the government will adopt Bragg’s suggestions or Morrison’s proposed accreditation scheme.