A woman has been verbally attacked over her religious beliefs during an Australia Day citizenship ceremony in Launceston. Rina Yoshizawa was left in tears when a man approached her outside of Albert Hall on Friday morning and said she was “following evil” because she was Muslim. Carrying a plastic bag full of brochures about Jesus, the man began to raise his voice at her when she didn’t agree with him, Ms Yoshizawa said. “I was listening and trying to respect him … he raised his voice … just started raising it and raising it. “He told me I am evil, I am following evil. “To me there’s your belief and my belief, so why?” A distressed Ms Yoshizawa told the man she would contact the police then went back inside the hall. Her husband, Ben Nitschke, said it was unacceptable. “We’re taught to respect other people’s religions, and they’re not doing that,” he said. “They claim other people are intolerant but they’re the ones demonstrating intolerance and creating division.” Launceston mayor Albert van Zetten said it was “extremely disappointing”. “It’s something that shouldn’t happen, on any day,” he said. “We really apologise to the woman on behalf of the city. We need to be more accepting of one another.” The man was approached by The Examiner and would not confirm who he represented, but provided a pamphlet outlining his beliefs. The Examiner, Tasmania
