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In the interview, Payman used Arabic terms such as “alhamdulillah”, which means “praise be to God” but is commonly used by non-Muslim Arabic speakers as well as non-devout Muslims.
Asked how she managed to speak articulately in press conferences despite being under immense pressure, she said: “My secret is, I don’t have any fancy media training… But also just praying that God almighty uses me as a vessel in the best way that he sees fit.”
She said she had been “pigeonholed” as a senator only focused on religious issues, arguing she would never impose her faith-based views on others.
Payman added that she was accountable to her voters but said it was crucial to “seek the pleasure of God and make sure we are doing right by him”.
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Payman met a coalition of Islamic political groups last month. Senior figures associated with the groups has said it is planning a challenge with teal-style tactics to a group of mostly western Sydney Labor MPs who it claims have failed to stand up for Palestinian rights. In a statement, The Muslim Vote said it was not a political party or religious campaign, but rather a political campaign.
In the OnePath Network interview, Payman said those MPs should “listen to the people who voted you in” and “sooner or later [voters] will think about replacing you”.
Meanwhile, Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja on Thursday accused Opposition Leader Peter Dutton of Islamophobia in relation to comments Dutton made about Payman quitting the government.
“If [Albanese] is in a minority government in the next term of parliament, it will include the Greens, it’ll include the teals, it’ll include Muslim candidates from western Sydney, it will be a disaster,” Dutton said.
In response, Khawaja wrote on X: “As a Muslim who grew up in Western Sydney I find this comment from someone who is running for PM an absolute disgrace.
“Bigotry at its finest. Fueling Islamophobia from the very top.”
Labor minister Ed Husic, a Muslim, said on Instagram: “Um, Pete? Newsflash. There’s not only been a Muslim candidate from western Sydney for more than a decade now, there’s also two of us who serve as minister.”
Reports on Friday questioning whether the Afghan-born Payman was a dual citizen, and thereby ineligible to sit in parliament, provoked criticism from independent senator David Pocock, who called it a “smear campaign”.
“Raising questions about her eligibility under section 44 by people from the same party who took responsibility for ensuring the eligibility of her candidacy and now are too cowardly to put their name to the allegations is such grubby politics,” he said.
