As Islamophobia rises, Australia’s Muslims celebrate Eid

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Katy WatsonAustralia correspondent, Sydney

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Reuters

An average of 18 Islamophobic incidents take place in Australia every week

As sunset approached in the south-western Sydney suburb of Lakemba last week, the street outside the Imam Ali bin Abi Taleb Mosque filled with thousands of people - most of whom found a seat at one of many trestle tables covered with white table cloths.

The mosque was hosting a community Iftar: the evening meal that marks the end of daily fasting in Ramadan.

The tables were divided into sections, marked by buffet stations labelled ‘women’ and ‘men’, and as the sun went down families brought out boxes of dates to break their fast, offering them around to neighbours and other guests.

Yet despite the family-friendly vibe of this event, a police surveillance trailer parked in the road - complete with 360 cameras on tall poles - spoke to fears among the community. After being on the receiving end of several threats, community leaders requested extra police presence throughout Ramadan. They also employed private security.

“We are going through very challenging times at the moment for the Muslim community and Australia in general,” said Gamel Kheir, secretary of the Lebanese Muslim Association, who organised the community Iftar.

“If ever there was a need for communities to come together and break bread, I would say this year is more [important] than ever.”

Islamophobia is on the rise in Australia. Threats towards Muslims used to average around 2.5 cases a week, according to the Islamophobia Register Australia. But since Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October, 2023, reported incidents have increased by 636%.

At the same time, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry notes that antisemitic incidents are nearly five times higher than they were before the 7 October attacks.

Last year’s Bondi Beach massacre has further exacerbated both fear and hate. The attack, which saw two gunmen carry out Australia’s worst shooting in decades at a public Hannukkah celebration in December, was deeply traumatic for Australia and its Jewish community. Some Jewish people claimed such an incident had been a long time coming amid a rising tide of antisemitism.

Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the massacre - which police said was “driven by Islamic state ideology” - reported incidents of Islamophobia increased by 201%.

Now, the Islamophobia Register Australia says there’s an average of 18 cases a week.

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“We should be alarmed and very concerned – it’s really the tip of the iceberg,” said Nora Amath, the executive director of the Islamophobia Register Australia.

“These numbers are an under-representation of the real issue - there are many, many people who do not report for a number of different reasons.”

Feelings of frustration and abandonment among Australia’s Muslim community were made clear on Friday, when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke came to Lakemba mosque to mark the end of Ramadan.

The politicians were heckled, booed and accused of supporting a genocide by some worshippers, as Kheir read out a statement about Australia’s involvement in the Middle East war and its impact on the Muslim community.

Sydney’s Islamic heartland

Everyone the BBC spoke to in Lakemba had their own story of an anti-Islamic threat or attack they’ve faced. This is Sydney’s most well-known Muslim neighbourhood. About 61% of the population is Muslim, according to the 2021 census, and its mosque is one of the largest in Australia.

It was the Lebanese migration in the 1960s that helped cement Lakemba’s reputation as the centre of Muslim culture in Sydney - but the community has since expanded to include Muslims from many other parts of the world, including South Asia.

Lakemba, Sydney’s most well-known Muslim neighbourhood, is famous for its Ramadan night markets

Dr Moshiuzzaman Shakil is one of them. The Bangladeshi doctor lives in the area with his wife, and is currently studying for a Masters in public health while being employed as a support worker for disabled clients.

But after the Bondi massacre, he said, one of his clients let him go.

“They [asked] me: ‘are you a Muslim?’ Yes, I’m a Muslim,” he recalled. “After the Bondi attack, some people thought Muslims were terrorists.”

In Lakemba, though, Shakil feels safe. With supermarkets selling food from the Middle East and South Asia and restaurants offering dishes like Mandi chicken, a beloved Yemeni dish, many Australian immigrants feel at home here.

It’s also a safe space for Australian Muslims, who worry about what happens when they leave what they call their ‘comfort zones’ - the neighbourhoods around Lakemba.

Multicultural tensions

Officially, Australia likes to characterise itself as a migrant nation, with a government website declaring it “One of the most successful multicultural societies in the world”. But the country has often had a difficult history with immigrants.

Until 1973, immigration was influenced by the infamous White Australia policy, which had actively limited the number of non-white immigrants entering Australia in favour of those from European countries. Even since that policy ended, however, issues of immigration, especially involving asylum seekers, have remained divisive.

The 7 October attacks revealed massive cracks in Australia’s multicultural ideals. An anti-Israel protest outside the Sydney Opera House on 8 October, where people were reported to have chanted anti-Jewish sentiments, was condemned by the prime minister and is often cited by the Jewish community as a dark day for Australia.

A protest on Sydney Harbour Bridge last year had a huge turnout in support of Palestinians and the wider Middle East.

While the recent focus on antisemitism and Islamophobia has centred around the events of 7 October, 2023 - and more recently Bondi - another date is often talked about as a turning point for race relations in Australia: the race riots of Cronulla in 2005.

A week before the riots began in December 2005, two surf lifesavers had been assaulted in what was said to be an unprovoked attack by a large group of men of “Middle Eastern appearance”.

Messages circulated calling for a revenge fight, and a crowd of about 5,000 gathered on the beach before attacking two young men they believed to be of Middle Eastern descent. Many then ran to the nearby train station after hearing that Lebanese passengers were arriving.

“I think this community has been in trauma since the Cronulla riots,” said Kheir. “Every time an episode happens now, we sit back and curl into the fetal position thinking, ‘oh God, please don’t be a Muslim person that just perpetrated that offence’.”

‘Normalised’ racism

The events of the past three years have fuelled anti-Islam sentiment. Last September, the Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia, Aftab Malik, released a report on the issue, calling for urgent action.

“The targeting of Australians based on their religious beliefs is not only an attack on them, but it’s an attack on our core values,” said Prime Minister Albanese in response. “We must stamp out the hate, fear and prejudice that drives Islamophobia and division in our society.”

Then, three months later, Jewish people were attacked at Bondi - and the prime minister was criticised for not doing enough on antisemitism either.

Meanwhile, as support for the populist anti-immigration One Nation Party rises, Albanese and the Labor Party find themselves in a tight spot.

In November last year, Pauline Hanson, an Australian senator and leader of One Nation party, wore a burka in parliament to push for a ban on the Muslim garment. She was suspended for a week. Then, earlier this month, she was again censured by the Federal Senate after she made comments questioning whether there were ‘good’ Muslims.

Experts say the issue of Islamophobia is not treated seriously enough

Community leaders like Kheir say that politicians like Hanson have legitimised racism - and that there’s evidence in the numbers of threats his mosque and community face.

“We’re talking astronomical figures,” he said. "We’re talking about women being spat on in the street. We’re talking about women whose scarves have been pulled off.

“Our Facebook posts used to have five to 10 comments. [Now] we’re getting a thousand plus comments of the most bigoted, vile, racist comments. People feel empowered and emboldened because [politicians] like Pauline Hanson have enabled this sort of racism to be rampant and normal.”

Experts say the issue isn’t treated seriously enough.

“Imagine [if Hanson] said the same thing for Jews in Australia – that there are no good Jews in Australia,” said Dr Zouhir Gabsi, senior lecturer in Arabic and Islamic Studies at Deakin University and author of Muslim Perspectives on Islamophobia: From Misconceptions to Reason. “There would be a huge backlash.”

Kheir agrees not enough is done to rein in racism.

“The fear that I have is Pauline Hanson and her dog whistling has such an effect on the Labor and Liberal Party that they are too scared to take the defence of the Muslim community, because it’s political suicide for them,” he said. “So we’re left to fend for ourselves.”

A cumulative effect

Earlier this month in the Australian city of Ballarat, a man who declared himself “far-right” allegedly threatened children outside a community hall where Muslims were enjoying Iftar. The man proceeded to barge into the hall and hurl racist abuse - but, controversially, was not immediately arrested and has not been charged.

Days later, in the same city, a man racially abused staff at a pharmacy, yelling Islamophobic and racial remarks including “go back to where you came from”.

According to Malik, the Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia, these attacks all have a cumulative effect.

“Each impact reinforces a sense that Muslim identity is not welcome, nor part of Australia’s social fabric,” he said last week, in a speech to mark UN International Day to Combat Islamophobia. “This has the immense danger of reducing institutional legitimacy and fraying social cohesion.”

Kheir says it is “more important than ever” that communities come together this year

Back on the streets of Lakemba last week, Kheir was calmly coordinating the mass Iftar, liaising with caterers as they ran back and forth replenishing food such as falafel, fattoush, chicken and rice. Once sunset hit and prayers were called, the queues started building - and the food fast ran out.

Throughout the evening, Kheir remained unfazed by the enormous job he was dealing with.

And he hasn’t given up on Australia either.

“‘The fair go for all’ was the motto for Australia,” he said. “Sadly, I believe Australia is going down the path of most Western countries where you’re having this identity crisis; where the predominant race back 50, 60 or 100 years ago is trying to reassert itself at the cost of the minorities.”

As for the ideal of Australia’s proud diversity? It’s a concept that is lost on many in the Muslim community.

“Multiculturalism is a politician’s word,” says Dr Zouhir Gabsi.

“Multiculturalism in Australia is good when you share a meal, but when you apply for a job, you always remain a migrant.”

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