A key organiser of an Islamic rally to be held in Melbourne on Sunday has cancelled the protest amid fears of a backlash and police concerns it will be overrun by violent activists.
Swaybah Javed, who had helped invite supporters through social networking to a rally outside the city’s State Library, said she’d been forced to scrap the event.
“I am calling off the protest as I do not want more violence on the streets, as Islam does not promote violence,” the university graduate said today. “It is a shameful day for Australia when Islamophobia has boiled over to the point where it is impossible to carry out a peaceful protest.”