Irfan Yusuf (Urdu: عرفان یوسف) (born in 1969) is an Australian[1] social commentator[1] and author of the memoir Once Were Radicals: My years as a teenage Islamo-fascist.
[13] He let his Liberal Party membership lapse in 2002 and in particular became critical of what he said was a takeover of the conservative faction by NSW Member of the Legislative Council David Clarke.
He accused Clarke of being willing to exploit antisemitism and homophobia to recruit Muslims from Sydney to his party and faction, and that he had made derogatory remarks to him about Jews and homosexuals.
[15] After a scandal involving a racist leaflet emerged during the 2007 election, Yusuf remarked on ABC's Lateline that a member expelled from the Liberal Party was perhaps affected by being "surrounded by bigots.
[18][19] In an online article in September 2005, Yusuf criticised his former factional colleague Bronwyn Bishop, a prominent Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives.
[26] He was a guest speaker at the Sydney Writers Festival in 2009, and a description of the event said Irfan "points the finger at mainstream extremism and hypocrisy and is a passionate (and funny) voice of moderation.