A financial services business in Sydney’s north-west has raised a few eyebrows with a blatantly xenophobic note that has been placed in its window, which supposedly calls for “tolerance”, yet quickly diverges into an anti-Islam rant.

The note is plastered inside the window of Garry Medina (GMI) in Windsor, and at first seems to take issue with protests against the building of an Islamic mosque in Liverpool, England, but actually reveals itself to be a thinly-veiled attack on Muslims.

“I am truly perplexed that so many of my friends are against another mosque being built in Toxteth,” the note begins. “I think it should be the goal of every Scouser to be tolerant regardless of their religious beliefs. Thus the mosque should be allowed, in an effort to promote tolerance.

“That is why I also propose that two nightclubs be opened next door to the mosque thereby promoting tolerance from within the mosque. We could call one of the clubs, which would be gay, ‘The Turban Cowboy’, and the other a topless bar called ‘You Mecca Me Hot’.

“Next door should be a butcher shop that specializes (sic) in pork, and adjacent to that an open-pit barbecue pork restaurant, called ‘Iraq Of Ribs’,” it continues, and the lame puns carry on for several more paragraphs.

“Across the street there could be a lingerie store called ‘Victoria Keeps Nothing Secret’, with sexy mannequins in the window modelling the goods,” it adds. “Next door to the lingerie shop there would be room for an adult sex toy shop, ‘Koranal Knowledge’, its name in flashing neon lights, and on the other side a liquor store called ‘Morehammered’.

“All of this would encourage Muslims to demonstrate the tolerance they demand of us, so their mosque issue would not be a problem for others,” the tirade concludes. “Yes, we should promote tolerance, and you can do your part by passing this on. And if you are not laughing or smiling at this point… It is either past your bedtime, or it’s midnight at the oasis and time to put your camel to bed!!!!”

As the out-of-place reference to “scousers” may make obvious, the message is actually a post that has been making the rounds on the Internet for quite some time now, having been shared in various forms over the years with a focus on a different location each time – in this case, the U.K.

That a Sydney business would feel the need to represent itself with such a sad, unfunny diatribe is another sharp reminder that xenophobia is alive and well in our country.

Image posted on the window of a business in Windsor

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