The Australian Defence League (ADL) is a

militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...

far-right,

white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...

street gang. The group is anti-Islam, and has been involved in making terrorist threats, abusing,

doxxing Doxing or doxxing is the act of publicly providing personally identifiable information about an individual or organization, usually via the internet. Historically, the term has been used interchangeably to refer to both the aggregation of this in ...

and stalking

Muslim Australian Islam in Australia is a minority religious affiliation. According to the 2021 Census in Australia, the combined number of people who self-identified as Muslims in Australia, from all forms of Islam, constituted 813,392 people, or 3.2% of the ...

s. The

gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Territory (animal), territory in a communi ...

was founded in Sydney in 2009 as an offshoot of the

English Defence League The English Defence League (EDL) is a far-right, Islamophobic organisation in the United Kingdom. A social movement and pressure group that employs street demonstrations as its main tactic, the EDL presents itself as a single-issue movement ...

History

The ADL was founded in 2009 a registered not-for-profit organisation. They were founded as an offshoot of the English Defence League. It was led by Ralph Cerminera until he stepped down from the position in 2014 after being found guilty of assault. In March 2019 Cerminera was sentenced to 9 months in prison after assaulting his neighbour. He was replaced as the group's leader by Chris Rothwell.

Activities

Stalking, verbal abuse and harassment

In 2014, the group came to national attention after it was revealed that ADL members and followers had been stalking and photographing Muslim women on public transport, verbally abusing Muslims, displaying anti-Islamic posters outside mosques, and threatening to blow up an Islamic school. Later in 2014, in what police believe was retaliation for the bomb threat, the home of Nathan Abela, former President of the ADL, was fired upon. Following pressure by people associated with the #illridewithyou campaign, Facebook shut down pages of ADL. On 22 December 2014, two members of the ADL were involved in a brawl outside Sydney's Lakemba mosque, arrested, and charged with

affray In many legal jurisdictions related to English common law, affray is a public order offence consisting of the fighting of one or more persons in a public place to the terror (in french: à l'effroi) of ordinary people. Depending on their act ...

and behaving in an offensive manner. They were subsequently convicted and jailed for five weeks.

Bendigo mosque protests

In 2014 and 2015, the organisation was involved in the Voices of Bendigo and Stop the Mosques Bendigo protests. The group was one of a number of far-right

Islamophobic Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism. The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia ...

groups, including the

Q Society The Q Society of Australia Inc. was a far-right, Islamophobic and homophobic organisation that opposed Muslim immigration and the presence of Muslims in Australian society. Q Society described itself as "Australia's leading Islam-critical org ...

Reclaim Australia Reclaim Australia is a far-right Australian nationalist protest group which is associated with nationalist and neo-Nazi hate groups. The group was formed in 2015, holding street rallies in cities across Australia to protest against Islam. I ...

True Blue Crew The True Blue Crew (TBC) is an Australian far-right extremist group. Members and supporters have been linked to right-wing terrorism and vigilantism, and members have been arrested with weapons and on terrorism-related charges. Experts who ...

and the

United Patriots Front The United Patriots Front (UPF) was an Australian far-right extremist group that opposed immigration, multiculturalism and the religion of Islam. Formed in 2015, the group has been largely dormant since their Facebook page was deleted follow ...

, that opposed the construction of a $3 million mosque and Islamic community centre in

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, mak ...

, Victoria.

References

{{neo-Nazism White nationalism in Australia Far-right political parties in Australia Anti-Islam sentiment in Australia Organisations based in Victoria (state) Persecution of Muslims

History

Activities

Stalking, verbal abuse and harassment

Bendigo mosque protests

See also

References