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Shermon Burgess, one of Australia’s most prominent anti-Islam activists has converted to Islam. Photo/AAP/Mick Tsikas
SYDNEY – Shermon Burgess, one of the most famous anti-Islamic activists in Australia made a scene among the community for deciding to enter Islam .
He has been a national figure since 2010 due to his involvement in the now defunct right-wing nationalist group; United Patriots Front (UPF), Reclaim Australia, and the Australian Defense League.
Burgess is best known for his role in the 2015 anti-Islam protests that centered on the construction of a mosque in Bendigo.
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In that action, he was instrumental in organizing dozens of protests alongside neo-Nazi figures Blair Cottrell and Neil Erikson.
At its peak, his social media page “The Great Aussie Patriot” shared racist and inflammatory content among tens of thousands of followers.
Half a decade later, Burgess’ personal Facebook account is now adorned with a cover photo of the Palestinian flag overlaid with the sentence of the Creed and featuring posts praising an Islamic prayer mural in the regional city of Jindabyne.
Burgess confirmed to independent Australian media, Crikey, Friday (3/3/2023), that he and other former anti-Islam activists had said the Shahada and were welcomed by the local mosque.
“The Muslim community is very good and wonderful, if you need help they are there,” he said.
Burgess said he reversed his beliefs – once saying that “multiculturalism has failed, Islam does not fit our way of life” – after witnessing the power of Australia’s freedom movement: anti-vaccine, anti-government and conspiracy-fuelled multicultural activism that emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic. 19.
Her protest drew a diverse crowd of different ethnic, cultural and religious communities united by their opposition to health measures over the pandemic.
