The immigration minister, Scott Morrison, says a young Australian who appeared this week in propaganda video by the militia group Islamic State is a “victim to the most barbaric and brutal betrayal of his own religion”.
Morrison was among more than 4,000 visitors to the Lakemba mosque on Saturday as part of the first National Mosque Open Day.
He spoke about the video which surfaced this week and is believed to feature Abdullah Elmir, a 17-year-old from Bankstown in south-west Sydney, who disappeared from his parents’ home in June. Morrison said it was “a terribly sad and tragic tale”.
“That young man may not see out the conflict at all,” he said.
The minister said his thoughts were with the young man’s family and others in the Islamic community who were “completely devastated by seeing their young people being taken up” in the conflict in Syria and Iraq.
“Days like today are as much about preventing that happening as anything we do on the border,” he said.
The mosque was lined in white balloons for the event, organised by the Lebanese Muslim Association, and plush koalas and caps bearing Australian flags gathered on trestle tables near the steps to the prayer hall.
Inside, sheiks Wissam Charkawi and Yahya Safi fielded dozens of questions from visitors about Islamic teachings and traditions, ranging from their choice of white headwear to the desirability of sharia, or religious, law.
Charkawi said sharia had become the infamous “s-word” in Australia, but many of its principles were already integrated into domestic law, such as those against killing or theft.
He told Guardian Australia he welcomed people’s curiosity about Islam. “At the end of the day a sheikh can be quizzed, grilled, and there’s nothing wrong with that,” he said. “You have to try to have constant engagement, regardless of whether you think it will have an impact.”
Carolyn Thornley, a teacher at the United Theological College, said she attended to “stand by the Muslims at this time”.
Another attendee, Steve, who declined to give his last name, said he considered all religion “bizarre and stupid”. “It’s the same fantasy all the way,” he said.
Social work student Verity Mackey brought her sister and father along, and said she found the day “very educational”.
“It was such an open environment and a safe space. It showed how complicated religion is, and how much overlap there is between different religions,” she said.
