2UE reporter Latika Bourke was hassled and told to “cover up,” while waiting to interview Muslim cleric Sheik Al-Hilaly at at Sydney Mosque last Friday.

The ACRA winning reporter says she was abused by a young man, about twenty years of age.

Latika Bourke tells radioinfo what happened in detail:

On Friday Sheik Al-Hilali was due to give his first sermon at Lakemba mosque
since the expiry of his self-imposed gag after the “uncovered meat” sermon.

I went to cover it and at the end of Friday prayers I was standing on the
footpath outside Lakemba mosque chatting to a print journalist waiting for the
Sheik to come out when a Muslim man aged in his twenties approached me.

He said “are you aware this is our Friday prayers?”

He continued “you’re disrespecting our religion.”

I replied “I’m sorry, how?”

He said “you should be wearing more clothes, you need to cover up, you mutt!”

I turned away and he walked off and I noticed a small group of men to the side
who watched the incident and I presumed they were his friends supporting him.
I was honestly just shocked speechless because it was entirely
unprovoked, and I feel unwarranted in terms of what I was wearing: a long black
trench-coat, knee-high boots and gloves.

If he had attacked me because I was representing a media company or he had a
gripe with the way Islam is portrayed in media I would have copped that – it
goes with the position and the professional territory. But to make a cultural or
religious attack on someone who isn’t violating any rules or cultural codes –
well that’s a different matter entirely.

I was the only female journalist there and feel I probably seemed an easy target
for him.

When Bourke discussed the incident on 2UE, a flurry of talkback calls supporting her were put to air.