Wilson, Carroll clash over imam’s funding

Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson has called on Premier Ben Carroll to suspend state funding to MyCentre, a Broadmeadows mosque led by Samir Mohtadi.

The call follows a report on a lecture in which Mr Mohtadi said husbands could beat their wives.

Mr Carroll told the Herald Sun the comments were “completely disgusting and vile”, but he would not rule out further funding.

In a video statement on Monday, Ms Wilson said Labor had promised more than $600,000 to the organisation.

“This is sickening, absolutely sickening,” she said.

She asked whether the Premier would suspend the funding, tell his MPs to cut ties, and explain what his government did when it was warned.

“Under a government I lead, his organisation won’t receive another cent of taxpayers’ money,” she said. She also pledged to oppose MyCentre’s planned mosque and schools in Mickleham.

“This is a man who has reportedly made vile antisemitic comments. Labor was warned about his antisemitic rhetoric in Parliament in June last year, yet Ben Carroll is still defending taxpayer funding for the organisation he leads” Wilsdon told The AJN.

Mr Carroll told the Herald Sun that the funding was “going to some really good services and really good work”. He said Ms Wilson had been “loose with the truth” and that Mr Mohtadi would not be meeting him or receiving his support.

A government spokeswoman said, “We condemn these violent comments.”

According to the Herald Sun, the lecture, titled “The Keys to a Successful Marriage”, was first delivered in 2003 and uploaded to YouTube in 2013. In it, Mr Mohtadi questioned how a man could be accused of raping his wife.

“I sincerely apologise for my past comments,” Mr Mohtadi told the newspaper.

The Herald Sun reported that MyCentre has received promises of more than $600,000 in taxpayer funding since 2022. Mr Carroll was alerted to a 2024 lecture Mr Mohtadi gave to Al-Taqwa College students, and in a January 2025 letter he referred concerns to the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority.

Labor MPs Kathleen Matthews-Ward, Natalie Suleyman and Bronwyn Halfpenny have been photographed with Mr Mohtadi, as has Anthony Carbines, who was police minister at the time, the newspaper reported.

MyCentre was recently named by United Arab Emirates prosecutors in their case against flydubai co-pilot Hammam Al-Hammami, who is accused of an attempted hijacking. The prosecutors have not accused Mr Mohtadi or MyCentre of involvement, and Mr Mohtadi has denied meeting Mr Al-Hammami.

Melbourne community activist Menachem Vorchheimer has separately urged Jewish leaders to be wary of election photo opportunities with Labor and the Greens.

“Engagement must never be confused with endorsement,” he said.