Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 2013-08-13  

An anti-immigrant politician and candidate in Australia's parliamentary elections campaign lasted just 48 hours after confusing Islam as a country.

Twenty-seven-year-old Stephanie Banister was a candidate for the anti-immigration One Nation party in next month's elections. The interview gained her worldwide notoriety — with commentators describing her as the "Australian Sarah Palin."

However, the ultra-nationalist has announced that she has pulled out of the race just two days after kicking off her campaign after she unleashed a series of gaffes on air during an interview with CNN affiliate 7 News.

"I don't oppose Islam as a country, but I do feel that their laws should not be welcome here in Australia," Banister said.

Banister also used the word “haraam” when she said Less than 2% of Australians follow haraam." when she presumably meant to say “halaal,” which means the complete opposite. It is unclear whether she meant the Muslim holy book, the Quran.

If that wasn’t enough Bannister got her religions all mixed up. "Jews aren't under haraam, they have their own religion which follows Jesus Christ," she said.
 
Palin, who was on Republican John McCain's ticket in the 2008 presidential election and is a former governor of Alaska, is known for her blunders. During the campaign, she once cited Russia's proximity to Alaska as bolstering her foreign policy credentials.

It's unclear when Banister's interview was aired, but it went viral soon after. She accused the affiliate of editing out numerous phrases where she corrected herself and said "Islamic countries."

"With the way Channel Seven edited my interview, I was left quite the fool," Banister said.

On Saturday, the mother of two withdrew from the race, citing threats to her family.