Anti-Islamist Group Blasted for Using Band’s Song at Rally by Lead Singer
An Australian singer is furious over the use of his band’s song at a recent anti-Islam protest in Victoria, Australia. The lead singer of Australian band Hunters & Collectors, Mark Seymour, has added his name to a growing list of musicians who’ve had their music used at a protest rally by anti-Islamist group “Reclaim Australia” and have spoken out against them.
The lead singer of the group posted on Facebook on Sunday, Nov. 22, labelling Reclaim Australia a “racist organisation.”
Seymour wrote the post after he had gotten word the Hunters & Collectors song “Holy Grail” was being used during a rally. “We stand together with refugees and asylum seekers the world over,” he wrote. “We are opposed to bigotry, race hate and fascism.”
Reclaim Australia is a self-described “patriot group” that takes hard-line stances on refugees and multiculturalism within Australia, and has been hosting violent rallies across the country over the past year.
Their latest one, held in Victoria on Nov. 22, saw six people arrested after a heated debate about a proposed mosque and Islamic school on Melbourne’s outskirts turned violent, according to Fairfax Media.
Seymour is the latest in a string of Australian musician to speak out against Reclaim Australia, after singers Jimmy Barnes, John Farnham and more condemned the group for using their songs at rallies across the country earlier in the year.
Australian singer, Jimmy Barnes, posted a response on Facebook to Reclaim Australia using one of his songs in July, 2015. Barnes took a strong stand against them, and asked for them to no longer play his music at their rallies.