Islamophobic incidents in Australia ‘skyrocketed’ since Israel’s Gaza war

Anti-Muslim incidents successful idiosyncratic person accrued by 150 percent – and by 250 percent online — according to an autarkic report.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said his authorities volition “carefully consider” the recommendations of an autarkic study which recovered that anti-Muslim incidents successful the state person “skyrocketed” since the commencement of Israel’s warfare connected Gaza.

During a media briefing astatine the Commonwealth Parliament Offices successful Sydney connected Friday, Albanese said targeting Australians based connected their spiritual beliefs was an onslaught connected the country’s halfway values.

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“Australians should beryllium capable to consciousness harmless astatine location successful immoderate assemblage … we indispensable stamp retired the hate, fearfulness and prejudice that drives Islamophobia and part successful our society,” helium said.

Aftab Malik, who has been serving arsenic the government’s peculiar envoy to combat Islamophobia since past October, was appointed to the three-year relation to urge steps to forestall anti-Muslim hatred. The assignment came arsenic Australia had been experiencing a surge successful anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents since the commencement of Israel’s genocidal warfare connected Gaza pursuing the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks connected confederate Israel.

The autarkic report, released connected Friday and Malik’s archetypal since assuming the position, said the normalisation of Islamophobia has go truthful wide successful Australia that galore incidents are not adjacent getting reported.

“The world is that Islamophobia successful Australia has been persistent, astatine times ignored and different times denied, but ne'er afloat addressed,” said Malik, appearing alongside Albanese.

“We person seen nationalist abuse, graffiti … we person seen Muslim women and children targeted, not for what they person done, but for who they are and what they wear.”

The 60-page report’s 54 recommendations to the authorities see a reappraisal of counterterrorism laws and procedures to analyse imaginable discrimination.

Malik besides recommended a wide-ranging enquiry into Islamophobia to analyse its main drivers and imaginable favoritism successful authorities policies.

Islamophobia had intensified since the al-Qaeda attacks connected the United States connected September 11, 2001 and had go entrenched, said Malik.

Islamophobic incidents successful idiosyncratic had skyrocketed by 150 percent — and by 250 percent online — since the commencement of Israel’s warfare connected Gaza, Malik said.

The Australian authorities has acknowledged steep rises successful some Islamophobic and anti-Semitic incidents successful Australia.

Jillian Segal was appointed envoy to combat anti-Semitism successful July 2024.

Segal recommended, successful her archetypal study 2 months ago, that Australian universities suffer authorities backing unless they code attacks connected Jewish students, and that imaginable migrants beryllium screened for governmental affiliations.

According to the 2021 Australian Census, 3.2 percent of the Australian colonisation is Muslim.

Islamophobia has besides risen crossed Europe, fuelled by governmental parties touting a populist anti-immigration stance.