March 7, 2025
Department cancels Lebanese preacher's visa A controversial preacher who was set to come to Australia to speak at events in Melbourne and Sydney just weeks after he attended the funeral of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has had his visa cancelled.
It's understood the Department of Home Affairs cancelled the visa of Hussain Makke, a Lebanon social media personality who described Nasrallah as the world's "greatest freedom fighter" on Wednesday.
Mr Makke was due to speak at events during Ramadan in Sydney and Melbourne, as revealed by Sky News presenter Sharri Markson on Wednesday.
One of his speaking events was to be at the Orion Function Centre in Campsie with the Miraj Institute, an Islamic educational institution.
Late last month, Mr Makke posted on his social media a picture of himself at the funeral of Nasrallah, who had led Hezbollah since 1992 until his death in an Israeli air strike in September last year.
Following the funeral, which was held in a stadium within Hezbollah's suburban stronghold in southern Beirut, Mr Makke was captured on video praising Nasrallah.
"This was an incredible day ... for a person who is regarded by much of the world as its greatest freedom fighter," Mr Makke said in the video.
Hezbollah's military wing was listed as a proscribed terrorist organisation in 2003 by the Australian government, with the entire organisation listed in 2021.
"No one who praises terrorism should be allowed to visit Australia on a speaking tour particularly in the middle of an anti-Semitism crisis," opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said.
"It's even worse that Hussain Makke apparently attended the funeral of Hezbollah's deceased terrorist leader."
According to an online biography, Mr Makke was born in London in 1991 before moving to Lebanon in 2012 where he continues to reside.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke faced Coalition calls last week to temporarily block the return to Australia of anyone who attended the Nasrallah funeral.
"It's like somebody attending the funeral of Adolf Hitler or somebody who had been responsible for (the) deaths of many people," Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said.
A Home Affairs spokesman said it did not comment on individual cases.
Mr Burke last year denied a visa to former Israeli government minister Ayelet Shaked, who had planned on coming to Australia for a speaking tour.
"My view is really simple, if you're simply coming here to demean people, we can do without you," Mr Burke said then.
"Whether those hatreds are demeaning of Israelis or demeaning of Palestinians, I'm going to have the exact same hard line."
Mr Makke was contacted for comment.
