VICTORIA, Australia: A fishing shop in regional Victoria has been forced to remove two of its Australia Day advertisements after it was found they ‘humiliated’ and ‘ridiculed’ Muslims.
Trelly’s Tackle World in Shepparton, north of Melbourne, had a print ad featuring products on sale with an offer of free pork kebabs: ‘1 day only! Halal or Haram.’ A complaint lodged with the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) claimed the advert was ‘incredibly offensive’, ‘Islamophobic’ and ‘aggressively attacked Muslims’.
The complaint said the emphasis on pork – consumption of which is forbidden in Islam – was intentionally included to ‘suggest that Muslims are not Australians and are not welcomed’.
Trelly’s responded to the claims by pointing out the word ‘Muslim’ was not used in the advertisement and said that kebabs were not exclusive to any one culture.
‘In Australia we are free to eat and drink what we want within the laws of Australia,’ Trelly’s wrote.
‘[The complainant] is hiding behind the misuse of very loosely used words like multiculturalism and Islamophobic. ‘I have also enjoyed by far a greater number of people who like my ad.’
The ASB found the offer of free kebabs in conjunction with a phrase akin to ‘permitted’ or ‘forbidden’ was ‘clearly targeting Muslims in a manner intended to provoke a reaction’.