A far-right nationalist group that links itself to One Nation leader Pauline Hanson stormed a church service on Sunday dressed in Muslim-style attire and chanting anti-Islamic slogans, leaving some members of the congregation "deeply traumatised".
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The incident, on the NSW Central Coast, reflects the emboldened attitudes of anti-Islamic groups following the political resurgence of One Nation.
Australia's peak Muslim body has demanded that Senator Hanson denounce the group's actions.
The incident has triggered calls for the new Parliament to retain the full strength of discrimination laws amid a new push for the repeal of section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.
About 10 members of the Party for Freedom on Sunday disrupted the morning sermon at the Gosford Anglican Church, which is widely known for its embrace of multiculturalism, and refugees and asylum-seekers.
The Party for Freedom is an anti-Islam, anti-immigration party whose Facebook page features Senator Hanson as its profile picture.
The church is nationally renowned for a sign at the front that often bears messages critical of Australia's hardline border protection policies, such as "Hell exists, and it's on Nauru".
Father Rod Bower said that members of the Party for Freedom burst into the church about 9.30am, halfway through his sermon.
"Using a loud speaker, starting to abuse me in particular for the work we do … they violated our sacred space," Father Bower said.
"It was typical rhetoric from the extreme right, vilifying Muslims and multiculturalism as a whole.
"[They said] Muslims are taking over, they had some prayer mats and mock prayed; they had a recording of the Koran being sung."
In video footage of the incident, the intruders can be heard speaking sarcastically of the "rich tapestry of Islam", claiming "the Western world is living in denial".
As the group left the church a few minutes later, they warned the congregation: "Do not promote Islam."
Some parishioners could be heard laughing afterwards, although Father Bower said some were left "deeply traumatised", especially older people, parents of young children and asylum seekers.
"People were confused and I had to reassure them," Father Bower said.
The incident was reported to police, and has prompted a security review at the church.
Video on the Party for Freedom Facebook page shows members of the group dressed in mock Muslim attire and boasting about the incident afterwards.
"We just went into Father Rod Bower's church and let him know we're not happy with his … nonsense about sponsoring Islam and multiculturalism," one man said.
In another video apparently filmed nearby, a member of the group says, "Keep voting Labor and Liberal and this will be the future. This is the future of Australia with cultural diversity, with mass Muslim immigration into Australia. You voted for it."
The man continues: "You are being replaced, your government is at war with you. With mass Third World immigration and Islam coming into Australia to take over, when will the Australian people wake up? It is time to wake up, Aussies."
Such sentiments echo that of Senator Hanson, who is pushing for a royal commission into Islam, wants the intake of Muslim refugees and other migrants to cease and would ban the burqa and niqab in public places.
Australian Federation of Islamic Councils president Keysar Trad said Party for Freedom members were "creeps" who committed "a low act, and caused a lot of angst for a lot of people".
"Pauline Hanson has inspired these people, she has to come out clearly and unambiguously … to condemn their behaviour, tell them to pull their head in and tell them to be respectful to fellow Australians," he said.
'What they did was wrong, they should apologise to everyone in that congregation."
Father Bower said the rise of the One Nation Leader, whose party has snared four Senate spots, was "symptomatic of a group of people feeling marginalised".
"Pauline Hanson is a very clever manipulator of those people and … will exacerbate their fear," he said.
The incident follows reports that several senators, including those from One Nation, want to strike section 18C from the Racial Discrimination Act.
The section makes it unlawful to publicly "offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate another person or a group of people" on the basis of race. Opponents say the measure restricts freedom of speech.
Father Bower said the incident at his church "highlights the need for 18C".
"If you lose 18C then this kind of vilification and abusive behaviour will go even more unchecked," he said.
Party for Freedom chairman Nick Folkes confirmed to Fairfax Media that he was among those in the church.
"We are not affiliated with One Nation but I do support Pauline Hanson," he said.
"We held the protest to challenge [Father Bower's] promotion of Islam and Muslim immigration."
Comment has been sought from One Nation.
On its Facebook page last week, Party for Freedom praised Senator Hanson for "reaching out to the forgotten people", adding that her "political re-emergence has been the greatest development in Australian politics in the past twenty odd years".
