“Horrifying” Increase In Islamophobia Since Bondi Attack

There’s been a sharp rise in reports of Islamophobia across the country in the weeks since the Bondi terror attack, with one body reporting hate crimes have more than doubled.

The Australian National Imams Council, the peak body for imams in Australia, said the incident had caused a new wave of anti-Muslim hate crimes, which has seen hijabi women physically assaulted, and mosques and Islamic centres vandalised and threatened.

The ANIC’s Action Against Islamophobia (AAI) initiative has recorded an almost 200% increase in reported anti-Muslim hate incidents. 62 incidents have been officially reported to the helpline since December 14, including graffiti at the Islamic College of Melbourne, and dismembered pigs thrown onto graves at a Muslim cemetery in Narellan.

“This is the worst it has been, and it leaves the community questioning its sense of safety and their ability to participate in community,” a spokesperson for AAI told the ABC.

“It seems that no amount of distancing, condemnation or correcting the narrative goes any way towards quelling the hate that comes from these events.”

Similarly, Islamophobia Register Australia has documented an increase in reports, with the average 1.5 reports a day before the Bondi attack escalating to more than 18 incidents a day.

The group’s 2025 report A National Response to Islamophobia, showed that incidents of Islamophobia in Australia have increased by 150 per cent for in-person hate incidents, and 250 per cent for online incidents since October 7 2023.

Backlash against Muslim community “unacceptable and dangerous”

The Council said they were also alarmed by “divisive” and “irresponsible” political rhetoric and media commentary, stigmatising Muslim communities and creating an environment where racists are emboldened.

Gunmen Naveed Akram and his father Sajid, were alleged to have had handmade Islamic State flags in the car they drove to Bondi in, with a statement of facts from a courtroom last week also alleging videos on Naveed Akram’s phone show the pair reciting “political and religious views” and “appear to summarise their justification for the Bondi terrorist attack”.

However early investigations from the federal police indicate that the pair acted alone.

“The sweeping and unjustified backlash directed at an entire community for the actions of two individuals is unacceptable and dangerous,” ANIC said. “Selective outrage, where some forms of racism are rightly condemned while others are minimised, excused or ignored, further entrenches division and erodes trust.

“Australia’s safety and strength depend on rejecting all forms of racism consistently and ensuring justice, dignity and security for every Australian.”

Premier Chris Minns has deemed the rise in Islamophobia “horrifying”, and said “police will throw the book at any examples of Islamophobia in our community”.

“Racism will not be tolerated. It’s not vigilantism, it’s not retribution; it’s hateful racism in our community, [and] we are on high alert,” he said.