Controversial Canadian influencer with an army of 3million followers is banned from Australia on the eve of speaking tour over ‘sickening’ comments

A self-proclaimed Muslim ‘influencer’ who commended Hamas in the wake of the October 7 terror attack claims the Australian government is the ‘oppressor’ after his visa was torn up.

Canadian-Palestinian Ousama Alshurafa was at the airport ready to board a flight to Australia, where he was due to commence a speaking tour of capital cities on Friday, when he found out he could not board the plane. 

Alshurafa told his more than 3million social media followers he was stopped by security at an airport in Canada and told Australian officials had cancelled his visa.

‘Recently the Australian Government revoked my visa without warning, despite it being approved months ago and based on the information they provided, it’s clear that this decision was made because I spoke publicly and unapologetically about Gaza,’ Alshurafa said on a video shared to his Instagram page.

‘I’m disappointed obviously that I can’t be with my brothers and sisters in Australia but I do not see this as a setback.

‘I see it as proof as how powerful one single voice can be, when truth shakes the ground beneath oppression, the first instinct of the oppressor is always the same, silence the speaker.

‘And they’ve tried to silence us at the airport gates, but what they fail to understand is that truth does not need a boarding pass to travel.

‘They might block one path, but Allah… will open a hundred more. Know this, if there is anything more powerful than the spoken word then Allah would have given it to the prophets. 

‘He didn’t, he gave them a voice, a voice that carried across deserts, empires and centuries because truth does not need permission to travel.

‘And even when they try to mute the sound of truth it carries a divine echo. They want to restrict our movement because they fear the power and reach of a voice that carries truth because the one who carries truth is the Almighty himself.

‘He [said] to make the call to prayer in an empty desert as if saying ”you make the call and I’ll handle the delivery”. 

‘So they may try to cripple our steps, but they can’t cripple the truth that Allah himself carries to every heart willing to listen, it’s his promise. This isn’t about one visa or one country, this is about the global attempt to police Muslim speech, especially Palestinian speech.’

Alshurafa promised his Australian supporters they could still hear similar content to his speaking tour online.  

‘At the moment the world is desperate for moral clarity, to my supporters in Australia and beyond, your love and solidarity reached me long before any airplane could have,’ Alshurafa said.

‘So don’t be discouraged, our message was never limited by borders and it will not be halted by those who fear it, so let this moment strengthen your resolve to amplify the voices from Gaza.

‘Support those documenting the truth, keep speaking peacefully, courageously and relentlessly, this cancellation will not silence me, it’s only confirmed why we must continue and we will continue together globally and louder than ever.

‘Even if I can’t be there physically, we’re still going to meet and I’m still going and we will still stand together, our pursuit for justice is unstoppable.’

Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler welcomed the decision to cancel Alshurafa’s visa.

‘Under no circumstances should he have been allowed to come into our country and have a platform to spread hatred, anti-Semitism, and division within our community,’ he told The Herald Sun.

‘It is truly sickening that this individual posted content online with Hamas terrorists boasting about shooting Israelis in the head on October 7.’

It’s been reported Alshurafa had his visa revoked after the controversial influencer made comments supporting Hamas’ attack on Israeli on October 7, 2023.

Hamas murdered 1200 people and kidnapped hundreds more during deadly surprise raids on a peaceful music festival and nearby community.

Alshurafa later posted a video to his X account which depicted a Hamas terrorist boasting about ‘trampling on the heads of Israelis and shooting their skulls with bullets’. 

The graphic footage depicted an elderly Israeli woman lying on a bed while another woman kneels on the floor as the Hamas terrorist proclaims they ‘spared women, children, and the elderly’.

‘In this video the Palestinian Resistance shows how they are following and abiding by the rules of war set by #sharia and the prophet Muhammad pbuh,’ Alshurafa posted.

‘They entered an Israeli soldier’s home and killed him but spared the older lady, the young lady, and the child.’

Alshurafa also posted on X that Hamas were ‘freedom fighters’.

‘The audacity to occupy our land and then call us terrorists. We are freedom fighters. All of us,’ he posted.

‘Don’t worry, your hostages are eating cornflakes and sipping on Kombucha while our hostages are having their nails pulled out.’

Alshurafa insists he does not preach violence and that his message is one of peace and the protection of innocent life. 

Homes Affairs Minister Tony Burke has previously blocked high profile figures from travelling to Australia who have made controversial statements online or in the media.

These included US far-right figure Candace Owens, US rapper Kanye West, and Israeli politician Simcha Rothman, who is a member of Israel’s far right Mafdal-Religious Zionism party, and was set to arrive in Australia for a speaking event.