Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke heckled in Lakemba Mosque

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke have been heckled at a mosque southwest of Sydney.

The two were at the Lakemba Mosque about 7.30am for the Eid prayers with the Lebanese Muslim Association to mark the end of Ramadan when protesters began yelling “Genocide supporters” and “Allahu Akbar”.

The association’s secretary Gamel Kheir had been giving a speech to worshippers when the heckling began, which included chants of “shame” and “disgrace”.

“Respect the place you’re in please. This is a mosque,” Mr Kheir had urged them, as he tried to continue on with his speech.

A video from the live-streamed event showed several men raising their hands in an attempt to quiet the room.

One of the more vocal individuals was reportedly tackled before he was then removed by security.

The PM and Mr Burke had been sitting on the ground surrounded by community members as they watched the protest unfold.

They remained until the end of the speech before being escorted out of the prayer hall.

A protester yelled “putrid dog” as a group of people tried to navigate the PM and Mr Burke to the exit.

The outburst, reportedly carried out by Islamic extremists, appeared to be related to the Albanese Government’s response to the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Mr Kheir had been sharing his disappointment with politicians in dealing with issues affecting the Muslim community in Australia when tensions flared.

He had raised concerns about an “extreme rise in Islamophobia”, a “withering away of our freedoms” and that “the Australian Muslim community has had zero impact on the federal election process or the framing of policy and legislation”.

“We have seen the dramatic rise of the far-right, anti-immigration agenda — so proudly represented by the likes of Pauline Hanson and the certain elements of the Coalition party,” Mr Kheir told the crowd, before he was drowned out by hecklers.

“We have seen the extreme rise in Islamophobia and targeted attacks on the Muslim community. This very mosque has had four threats already.

“We have seen the withering away of our freedoms, and yet, worse still, the Israeli genocide in Gaza and now threatening to engulf a whole Middle East, continues unabated.

“We as Australian Muslims, need to have these deep, intellectual discussions in regards to how we navigate the path of engaging political leadership, the media and the wider Australian public.”

Later that Friday morning, Mr Albanese shared photos of the event on X, which gave no indication of the earlier disturbances.

The pictures — which included him smiling and taking a selfie with community — was captioned: “Eid Mubarak. An honour join thousands for Eid al-Fitr at Lakemba Mosque this morning.

Mr Albanese tried to play down an incident while speaking at a press conference in Whyalla later on Friday, claiming he had a “very warm reception”.

“Yes, there were a couple of people who were heckling,” he said.

“They were dealt with. Contrary to what’s been suggested, no one was rushed out. We just sat there.

“It was dealt with by the community themselves, because overwhelmingly, they did not want that to occur.

“There were 30,000 people plus at Lakemba this morning.

“There are a couple of hecklers inside.

“Overwhelmingly, the reception was incredibly positive.

“Some people don’t like the fact that we’ve outlawed extremist organizations like Hizb ut-Tahrir and that brought a response from a couple of people.

“But if you got a couple of people heckling in a crowd of 30,000 that should be put in that perspective.”

The Lebanese Muslim Association issued a statement after the event calling for unity.

“We are aware of the reaction to the Prime Minister’s attendance and we understand that emotions are high, particularly given the ongoing suffering in Gaza and the devastation in Lebanon,” it stated.

“But we also need to be clear. Choosing to engage with the elected leadership of this country is not a betrayal of those concerns. It is how we give them a voice.

“Walking away from engagement has not advanced our community, nor has it changed outcomes overseas. It has not reduced Islamophobia here, and it has not strengthened our ability to influence decisions that affect us.”

“We will continue to do that in a way that reflects our values, our faith and our commitment to both our community and the broader Australian society.”

Mr Burke’s Federal seat of Watson includes the Lakemba Mosque, also known as the Masjid Ali Bin Abi Talib, which is Australia’s largest.

The Eid al-Fitr prayer is an early morning, holy gathering that signals the end of the fasting month of Ramadan and translates to the Festival of Breaking the Fast.