'Islam is a country' - Gaffe candidate quits Australian election

Stephanie Bannister giving the interview with Channel 7.

An Australian election candidate who make a series of gaffes in a TV interview has withdrawn her candidacy after she was widely mocked. Twenty-Seven year old Stephanie Bannister was contesting a seat in Queensland for the anti-immigration One Nation party, and had only been in politics for 48hours when she resigned. In the interview, which aired earlier this week and has since gone viral in Australia, she mistook Islam for a country, and confused the term "haram", which means forbidden, with the 'Koran' - the holy book - and suggested Jews worshiped Jesus Christ. She announced her withdrawl from the election on Sunday, saying in a brief statement: "With the way Channel 7 edited my interview, I was left quite the fool", adding: "I'd like to apologize to One Nation, to my friends and family, for any embarrassment this has brought for them". The Leader of the One Nation Party, Jim Savage, said Ms Banister continued to have the "full support" of the party executive, saying she had been under "enormous pressure", including threats to her and her family.