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Islamophobia in Australia is distrust and hostility towardsMuslims,Islam, and those perceived as following the religion.[1] This social aversion and bias is often facilitated and perpetuated in the media through the stereotyping of Muslims as violent and uncivilised. Various Australian politicians and political commentators have capitalised on these negative stereotypes and this has contributed to the marginalisation, discrimination and exclusion of the Muslim community.[2]
Islamophobia and intolerance towards Muslims existed well prior to theSeptember 11 attacks in the United States. For example, Muslim immigration to Australia was restricted under theWhite Australia Policy (1901–1975).[3]
Islamophobia in Australia is understood as a set of negative beliefs concerning the religion of Islam, as well as a contemporary outlet for general public anger and resentment towards migration and multiculturalism.
Anti-Muslim prejudices are thought to be sourced from a perceived lack of integration among Muslim migrants, and reconfiguration of community and ethnic politics.[3]
As part of Islamophobia, Muslims were reduced to caricatures of misogynists and oppressed women; violent men were thought as inclined to terrorism. The Australian media is noted for presenting portrayals of Muslim immigrants in a negative manner, although in comparison to other Western countries, Australian media exhibits less bias as a result of its coverage of the everyday life of Australian Muslims.[4]
According to some scholars, public discourse rectifying negative images of Islamic culture result in an unfounded fear of actual Muslims;[5] public discourse focusing on the Western values of women's rights enabled Islam and Islamic clerics to be portrayed as misogynist and oppressive towards women.[6]
Some theorists maintain that, increasingly since 11 September 2001, the Australian public has attributed Australian Muslims with a sense of "otherness", using social constructions and generic misrepresentations of Muslims as a way to regain existential control in a post-9/11 world.[7]
Some scholars have argued that the rise of militant Islam in Australia has led to the increase in Islamophobia and undone efforts by Muslims to foster positive relations with the Australian public.[8]
Estimates of the prevalence of anti-Muslim sentiment in Australia differ. A large-scale poll published in 2011 found that 48.6 per cent of Australians had a negative opinion of Islam.[9] Another survey published in 2014 found that a quarter of Australians held anti-Muslim views; this incidence was five times higher than that for any other religion.[10] The latter survey also found that 27 per cent of Muslim Australians have experienced discrimination, which was also the highest of any of the religions covered in the study.[11] A poll conducted by theUniversity of South Australia's International Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding released in 2016 found that 10 per cent of Australians have hostile attitudes towards Muslims. Older people, those who had not completed year 12 and people outside the workforce were more likely to report anti-Muslim attitudes in this poll.[12] The accompanying report concluded that the poll shows that "most Australians display low levels of Islamophobia".[13]
A report from Australia has found that the levels of Islamophobia amongBuddhists andHindus are significantly higher than among followers of other religions.[14]
During theFirst Gulf War, there were a number of racist attacks, in some cases including violence against Arabs and Muslims, including property damage; Arab-owned shops were looted and vandalised and Islamic institutions received bomb threats. People with the surname "Hussein" received harassment calls. The Muslim community also dealt with stigmatisation as a result of ASIO's anti-terror efforts. The Australian media had reported that based on ASIO intelligence, New South Wales would be the target of a terrorist attack. In a counterterrorism effort, a number of Arabs and Muslims, including a number of political activists, were visited by ASIO personnel; ASIO also conducted a number of wiretaps on Arab and Muslim Australians. No such attack did occur, although the Jewish community experienced a number of racist attacks. Initially, Muslims were blamed for the attacks on the Jewish institutions. However, the New South Wales Anti-Discrimination Board concluded that there was insufficient evidence that Muslims were behind the attack.[3]
In 2014, anti-Islam groups campaigned against Australian food companies in an attempt to stop them having their food certified as beinghalal. The groups argued that the cost of certification increases the prices of food to all consumers,[15] and that the fees charged for certification were used to fund terrorism.[16] In November 2014 Fleurieu Milk & Yoghurt Company stopped producing halal products after being targeted by campaigners, and a number of other large and small companies were also reported to have been targeted.[17]Keysar Trad from theAustralian Federation of Islamic Councils told a journalist in July 2014 that these groups were attempting to exploit anti-Muslim sentiments.[15]
In 2015 thefar-right and anti-IslamQ Society was involved in a defamation lawsuit over its claims that the Islamic certification industry is corrupt and funds "the push for sharia law in Australia". Legal proceedings against senior members of the Melbourne-based Q Society andKirralie Smith, who runs the website HalalChoices, began after a speech was given at a Q Society event that portrayed El-Mouelhy as "part of a conspiracy to destroy Western civilisation from within" and "reasonably suspected of providing financial support to terrorist organisations". El-Mouelhy says that he has been defamed in relation to the proceeds of halal certification.[18] This case has now been settled out of court.
In response to the comments made by Smith and HalalChoices, officials from theAustralian Criminal Intelligence Commission have stated that the commission has been on "heightened lookout" for links between halal certifiers and terrorism since the issue surfaced but has "not found any direct linkages". Furthermore, a Senate inquiry into food certification asserted that there was "no link" between the religious approval process and extremist groups.[19] It recommended that the federal government increase its oversight of domestic halal certifiers to address fraudulent conduct in the sector.[20] It said that it had heard, "credible reports suggesting that the lack of regulation has been unscrupulously exploited". In tabling the report, committee chairmanSam Dastyari said, "Some certifiers are nothing more than scammers."[21]The committee recommended a single halal certification authority.[21] The committee in recommending clearer labelling, specifically referred to the need for meat processors to label products sourced from animals subject to religious slaughter.[22]
As of 27 February 2017, as part of a settlement agreement, Smith and the Q Society have publicly apologised and agreed to display notice of the settlement on their respective websites for one year. The case was settled out of court.[23][24][25]
In 2014 theCity of Greater Bendigo announced the construction of aA$3m mosque and Islamic community centre inBendigo, Victoria. Some residents created a "Stop the Mosque in Bendigo" group and certain far-right organisations, in particular theQ Society, mobilised residents and brought in outsiders to oppose the construction by conducting extensive protests. The society organised a meeting on 11 May 2014 with residents opposed to the building of the mosque to provide advice on protesting and also distributed pamphlets containing anti-Islam hate speech at the council meeting which voted to go ahead with the project.[26] TheBendigo and Adelaide Bank openly supported the building and funding of a mosque and closed the account of the Stop the Mosque group,[27] saying that the group did not share its values.[28]
In October 2015, around 1,000 people turned up for a protest organised by theUnited Patriots Front (UPF), many having travelled from far afield. Members of the extremist groupRight Wing Resistance Australia travelled from interstate, and theRise Up Australia Party was also represented.[29] There was also acounter-demonstration to that of the far-right groups. Over 420mounted police,riot squad and other police officers were assigned to oversee the rallies, and two arrests were made for carrying knives, one for carrying aflare and another for minor assault.[30]
Anti-IslamReclaim Australia rallies have been held across Australia since 2015. Reclaim Australia is afar-rightnationalist protest group which is associated withneo-Nazi and other nationalisthate groups.[31][32] The group was formed in 2015, holding street rallies in cities across Australia to protest against Islam.
Reclaim Australia primarilyopposes Islam in Australia and is considered Islamophobic.[33][34][35][36] The group has attracted neo-Nazis and their involvement in promoting and attending Reclaim Australia rallies has been well documented.[33][36] Speakers at Reclaim Australia rallies have been known to express extremist views, with one speaker in South Australia warning of the risks of "Islamic barbarity" and encouraging those in attendance to "insult and vilify Islam five times a day if you want to".[35]
In June 2015, theUnited Patriots Front, a far-rightAustralian nationalist protest group which is associated withnationalist andneo-Nazi hate groups.[31][37] protestedZaky Mallah's appearance onQ&A, a television programme, by roasting a pig outside the Melbourne office of theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation building, in an apparent attempt to offend Muslims.[38][39]
In October of the same year, the group beheaded amannequin outside theBendigo City Council chambers to protest the2015 Parramatta shooting and the approval given by the council to construct a mosque in Bendigo.[40] In September 2017, they were convicted of "inciting serious contempt of Muslims" under theRacial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 (Vic), and each were fined $2,000[41] Appeals byBlair Cottrell to have his case heard in theHigh Court of Australia and theSupreme Court of Victoria were both thrown out in 2019.[42][43]
In 2016, a billboard promoting Australia Day celebrations in the Melbourne suburb ofCranbourne was removed after threats and abuse were directed at the advertising company. The billboard featured two Muslim girls in hijabs waving Australian flags and celebrating Australia Day.[44]
Islamophobia was documented at aQ Society fundraising dinner, with numerous guest speakers including current members of the Australian Government present. SpeakerLarry Pickering stating that "If they (Muslims) are in the same street as me, I start shaking",[45] and that "They are not all bad, they do chuckpillow-biters off buildings."[46][45] adding that "I can't stand Muslims".[45] The cartoonist also auctioned an overtly Islamophobic work depicting the rape of a woman in a niqab by her son-in-law.[45] Another Larry Pickering cartoon auctioned at the fundraiser depicted anImam as a pig (in Islam the consumption of all pork products is consideredharam or forbidden), being spit roasted, with a "halal certified" stamp on its rump. A case of wine called "72 Virgins" was also up for grabs, along with a signed photograph ofDame Joan Sutherland.[45] Kirralie Smith has denied supporting Pickerings statements, however Smith has reiterated parts of the speech stating that "there are Muslims that actually do throw gays off buildings!".[47] Sitting members of the Australian Government,Cory Bernardi andGeorge Christensen, attracted criticism for speaking at the Q Society of Australia. The event received protests who called the event racist.[48]
On 15 March 2019, 51 people were killed in shooting attacks that targeted two mosques inChristchurch, New Zealand, duringJumu'ah. The perpetrator was identified as Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old who was born in Australia and lived inGrafton, New South Wales. Tarrant was regarded as awhite nationalist and aneo-fascist who sought to foster an "atmosphere of fear" within the Muslim community.[49][50]
IndependentQueensland senatorFraser Anning released a statement shortly after the attacks. While Anning condemned the shooting, he identified the cause as "the immigration program which allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate to New Zealand in the first place" and stated that the event reflects increasing Islamophobia in Australia and New Zealand. Anning's comments were roundly criticised by other Australian politicians and left-wing media.[51][52]
Between October and December 2023,Australia experienced a surge in both Islamophobia andanti-Semitism following the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Hamas on 7 October.[53][54] The Islamophobia Register Australia recorded 133 Islamophobic incidents between 7 October and 6 November 2023, including spitting attacks, threats to mosques and Muslim schools,graffiti, property damage,hate mail, verbal abuse, and online abuse. By comparison, the average number of weekly Islamophobic incidents prior to 7 October averaged 2.5 per week. Executive director of Islamophobia Register Australia, Sharara Attai, said that she believed that the number of Islamophobic incidents was higher than 133 and that Islamophobia and other hate crimes were often under-reported.[54] In addition, theVictorian Police recorded 12 Islamophobic incidents between 7 October and 9 November, resulting in one arrest.[54]
By 2 December, the number of Islamophobic incidents recorded by the Islamophobia Register had risen by 13-fold to 230 incidents over a period of seven weeks.[53] Notable incidents included a young Christian boy being called a "terrorist" for his Palestinian ethnicity,[55] Muslim women having theirhijabs yanked off, and Arab and Muslim Australians beingdoxed, receiving death threats, and dismissed from their jobs for expressing pro-Palestinian viewpoints or attending pro-Palestine rallies.[53]
In mid-September 2025 Aftab Malik, the special envoy to combat Islamophobia, released his report on a national framework to combat Islamophobia. Malik's report made 54 recommendations including reviewing anti-discrimination laws including theRacial Discrimination Act 1975, improving data collection on hate crimes, developing behavioural codes of conduct for Members of Parliament and parliamentary staff, and introducing compulsory Islamophobia courses for MPs and parliamentary staff.[56][57] TheAlbanese government had created both the Islamophobia and anti-Semitism envoys in 2024 due to an escalation of anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic incidents following the outbreak of the Gaza war.[57]In the2019 Australian federal election, ten parties were listed by the "My vote matters" campaign, an initiative of the Islamic Council of Victoria, as openly Islamophobic, with a number of minor parties including such policies as well.Fraser Anning's Conservative National Party was included in the list. The issue only arose briefly as an election issue when twoLiberal candidates were disendorsed after their views previously expressed on social media were publicised.[58][59]
In 2014, filmmaker Kamal Saleh orchestrated a social experiment to test how Australians would react if they witnessed a Muslim person being abused. In one scene a woman in ahijab is being harassed by a young man; in another it is a young boy who is the target of the discriminatory abuse. Saleh's film showed non-Muslim Australians standing up to the abuse and defending the Muslim victim.[60]
Following the2014 Martin Place siege when an Iranian-Australian gunman took 17 hostages resulting in his death and the deaths of two hostages, a social media campaign in support of Australian Muslims was launched using the hashtag "#illridewithyou" to assist Muslims who may feel intimidated to use public transportation.[61]
In 2015, academic researcher Susie Latham and professor Linda Briskman created the "Voices against Bigotry" website and network, which aim to raise an opposing voice against Islamophobia by encouraging ordinary people and community leaders, particularly politicians, to speak out on the issue. The network has active members across Australia who write articles for the media and academic journals and make public comment. The website acts as a clearing house for alleged anti-Muslim bigotry, advertising events and centralising research and information.
Discriminatory acts against Muslims is prohibited under Australian law, both on a state and federal level. Some acts of legislation include:
Critics maintain that legislation concerning Islamophobia has been too restrictive in its development, and that the state's response to discriminatory practices against Arabs and Muslims has been too slow.[62][63]
Protesters have been critical of discrimination in the workforce by Muslims in circumstances that relate to religious based employment positions. However all states provide for exceptions to their respective laws regarding discrimination where it occurs for religious purposes.[64][65]
ACouncil for the Prevention of Islamophobia Inc has been established by theIslamic Research and Educational Academy[66]
The council's intolerance of their critics was on display when an Australian speaking tour ofAyaan Hirsi Ali was organised for April 2017. As a former Muslim, she is considered an "apostate" by Muslims and faces the death penalty in her country of origin.[67] The council told organisers that there would be 5,000 protesters outside theFestival Hall in Melbourne if she was to speak at that venue.[68] Their threats achieved their aim and her Australian tour was cancelled.[69][68]
The term and its use, is criticised. Professor ofPsychology, Nick Haslam from theUniversity of Melbourne says the use of this type of word, "brushes aside opinions we dislike by invalidating the people who hold them ... and closes the door on dialogue".[70]
Brian McNair, Professor of Journalism, Media and Communication atQueensland University of Technology writing inThe Conversation in support of, "legitimate and increasingly necessary" open discussion about Islam says, "critiquing Islam [is not] Islamophobia [or] racism [nor is it] anti-Muslim."[71]
