Horrific stories of Australian Muslims being attacked, assaulted and abused with expletive-ridden tirades reveal the personal stories behind a rise in acts of religious-based hate.
Islamophobia Register Australia has recorded a 530 per cent surge in incidents since Hamas' attack against Israel on October 7, 2023.
The organisation has received almost 1000 incident reports of abuse, physical intimidation and violence, an average of 16 reports a week compared to between two and three prior to October 7.
NSW Police are investigating the latest incident with anti-Islam graffiti found in a western Sydney suburb, where the words "f*** Islam" were spray painted onto an overpass and "cancel Islam" was scrawled on a nearby advertising board.
The graffiti has since been painted over.
Six friends, including three Muslims, wearing keffiyehs were punched and abused in a hotel lobby in Adelaide in an unprovoked attack, with the man yelling they were terrorists in an expletive-ridden tirade, according to one report to the register.
"He continued to punch us in the face and back until we finally were able to restrain him until the police arrived, he kept telling us that he wanted to kill us," one of the victims reported.
Several threats referenced the Christchurch mosque terrorist who murdered 51 people and injured 89 others in mass shootings.
A 23-year-old Muslim engineering student at a Melbourne university found the words “I kill all Muslim scum" written in permanent marker on a toilet stall door, according to another report.
Muslim senator Fatima Payman received a number of Islamophobic and violent letters she shared with the register, including sexually violent threats and extremely degrading language.
Women had hijabs removed and graffiti with words like "kill all Muslims" were commonplace while individuals, businesses and organisations received threatening and hate-filled letters.
"This is just the tip of the iceberg as many incidents don't get reported to us at the register," executive director Nora Amath said.
The vandalism was a symptom of a deeper issue, Australia's Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia Aftab Malik said, reflecting a rise of anti-Muslim sentiment.
The Sydney graffiti was appalling and unacceptable, he said.
"It crosses a line from free speech to hate speech," he told ABC radio.
"That graffiti has no place in a multicultural, multi-faith Australia."
Throughout a five-week nationwide tour, Muslim Australians spoke to him about public humiliation and death threats.
"Islamophobia is one of those hidden cancers that eats away at social cohesion," Mr Malik said.
"It is well known among Muslim communities but it really hasn't warranted or received a public outcry and coverage that many of us believe it should."
The special envoy stressed the need for government action, including countering stereotypes, holding perpetrators accountable and improving safety for Muslims.
Women were particularly vulnerable to Islamophobia, with multiple people he spoke to telling stories of women being asked if they were carrying a bomb under their clothing or having their hijabs ripped off their heads.
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