A church was stormed by anti-Islam protestors in Australia on Sunday as part of a "racist stunt" against support for Muslims and multiculturalism.
A service at Gosford Anglican Church on the Central Coast of New South Wales was interrupted after a group of around 10 wearing mock Muslim outfits and pretending to pray Islamic prayers. Local police are investigating the incident.
The Party for Freedom posted videos and photos of the demonstration online and said it was a protest at the church's support for Islamic leaders and multiculturalism. Father Rod Bower said his congregation were "traumatised" after the protest.
"They were shocked," he told Australia's public broacaster ABC.
"I worked out who it was fairly quickly," he said adding the protest was "simply because we support the Muslim community, we try and build bridges." The church is known for promoting pro-immigration messages in services and on its public billboards.
"To come into sacred space, to violate that space as Christians were celebrating the ultimate act of love ... to bring hate into that space is a deep violation. It just galvanises our conviction," said Bower.
The far-right group have ties to the anti-immigration One Nation party, which has four seats in Australia's Senate and is run by Senator Pauline Hanson. They warned Bower's congregation not to promote Islam.
"We want to share Islam with you, this is the future," one of the protesters said in the footage.
"This is cultural diversity, mate. The rich tapestry of Islam that we'd like to share with Father Rod, and the congregation, and the social justice agenda we hear all the time."
The One Nation party has since denied any official affiliation to the Party for Freedom which has about 450 members and ambitions to register as a political party.
