More than 11,000 people have signed a counter-petition demanding ABC "publicly condemn and fire" Muslim youth activist Yassmin Abdel-Magied, following her appearance on last Monday's episode of Q&A.
The Change.org petition, launched by right-wing news site Altcon News, is a retort to another petition launched by Muslim leaders earlier this week in support of Abdel-Magied, which received just under 2,500 signatures.
In the petition, Altcon's authors accuse Abdel-Magied of "blatantly lying to the public about the merits of Sharia Law", of which she is a follower.
They cite Sharia's "oppressive impact it has on non-Muslim groups, homosexuals and women", and call on the public broadcaster to "reassure the tax-paying public that they condemn her rhetoric and that Australians obey one set of laws".
Altcon News, who "pride [themselves] on being politically incorrect" on their website, have previously launched a Change.org petition demanding the Quran be removed from sale in Australia.
Abdel-Magied, a host on ABC 24's weekend show Australia Wide, was forced to defend her faith in a much-publicised exchange on last week's episode, after Tasmanian senator Jacquie Lambie – yet again fumbling over the religious framework she's long railed against – suggested Australia should take a leaf out of Donald Trump's pages and "deport all Muslims who support Sharia law".
"People talk about Islam without knowing anything about it, and they're willing to negate any of my rights as a human being, as a woman, as a person with agency, simply because they have an 'idea' of what my faith is about," Abdel-Magied told Lambie, before criticising the senator's focus on its "oppressive" tenets.
"Islam to me is the most feminist religion: we got equal rights well before the Europeans. We don't take our husbands' last names because we aren't their property. We were given the right to own land... The fact is, in Sharia it says you follow the law of the land you are on," she said.
The exchange drew comment from across the political divide, with our old Minister for Women Tony Abbott criticising Abdel-Magied's feminist defence of Sharia, while even musician Solange Knowles – Beyonce's sister – tweeted in support of the activist from across the globe.
In a video produced for Junkee that's been viewed almost five million times, Abdel-Magied sought to further dispel the myths associated with Sharia following her Q&A appearance.
"Sharia is not a system of laws like Australia's legal system... Sharia is about a Muslim's personal relationship with their God... In fact, I'm religiously obligated to follow Australian law," she said.
She also acknowledged the fundamentalist interpretations of Sharia overseas, that have seen the religion labelled "oppressive" by anti-Muslim crusaders – such as Altcon and their petition supporters.
"Saudi Arabia doesn't allow women to drive. No other Muslim country has that law. It's cultural, and reflects the conservative and patriarchal nature of that society – not what Sharia stands for," she said.
