Religious and political leaders have condemned Islamophobic graffiti discovered in a multicultural suburb in Sydney’s west on Sunday, with NSW Police launching an investigation into the incident.
NSW Police said they received reports of offensive graffiti in Sefton on Sunday morning.
The words ‘F— Islam’ had been spray painted onto both sides of an underpass and the words ‘cancel Islam’ were graffitied on a nearby advertisement.
The words ‘Cancel Islam’ had been spray painted onto a street advertisement in Sefton. Source: SBS News
Officers attached to Bankstown Police Area Command commenced an investigation into the incident.
By Sunday afternoon, the offensive words had been painted over.
The Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) said it “strongly condemns” the graffiti and described it as “another Islamophobic and anti-Muslim attack in Australia”.
“The location of the attack is no coincidence. This act of Islamophobia was targeted at a suburb with a high Muslim majority to intimidate and threaten the Muslim population,” ANIC said.
“If they cannot feel safe in their own home, where can they feel safe?”
Premier Chris Minns described the vandalism as “abhorrent” on Sunday and said the people responsible would face the “full force of the law”.
“This racism and Islamophobia is disgusting and corrosive to the very fabric of the successful multicultural state that we have built here in New South Wales,” he said.
Federal Minister Jason Clare, who represents the suburb in his Blaxland electorate, described the incident as “disgusting”.
“We need to condemn this and all forms of racism right across the country,” Clare told SBS News.
“We are the best country in the world and one of the reasons for that is because we’re made up of people from all around the world, all different religions living here in harmony and this is just the absolute opposite of that.”
Minister for Education and Blaxland representative Jason Clare condemned the graffiti on Sunday. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
David Ossip, President of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies said the NSW Jewish community “unreservedly condemns the anti-Islam graffiti”.
“The graffiti was hateful, deeply offensive and would have understandably caused distress to the Islamic community. A bigoted attack on any group of Australians is an attack on all of us,” Ossip said.
Escalating series of attacks
The Islamophobic graffiti follows a week of incidents affecting both Jewish and Muslim communities.
Earlier this week, the NSW government said it will “throw everything” behind an investigation into
.
A vehicle was set alight and another vehicle, two buildings and a footpath were graffitied with antisemitic messages, including one message that said ‘Kill Israiel’ (sic).
Last weekend, a bus belonging to the IQRA College, an Islamic School in Adelaide, was set alight in suspicious circumstances.
South Australia Police are investigating the incident but said so far no evidence had been found to indicate it was a racially motivated as opposed to an opportunistic attack.
The incidents followed a firebombing attack at
that is being treated as a likely terror attack.
Liberal senator stands by Islamophobia comment
Separately on Sunday, NSW Liberal senator Dave Sharma stood by comments he made this week
.
On Monday, responding to the arson attack on the Melbourne synagogue, Sharma said: “Any time any senior minister mentioned antisemitism in the last 12 months, they also mentioned a fictitious Islamophobia which was not going on,” he said.
Asked about the comments on Sunday, Sharma told SBS News he stands by the “fact that antisemitism is at unprecedented levels and that there is only one religious community in Australia at the moment that is suffering the degree of harassment, intimidation and menace as the Jewish community”.
Sharma’s comments were strongly criticised by Muslim groups, who said the comment risked dehumanising victims and emboldening perpetrators.
Islamophobia Register executive director Nora Amath said Sharma’s comments “undermined” the lived experiences of thousands of Australian Muslims who she said face discrimination, hatred, and violence.
Community leaders condemn a rise in hateful behaviour
Speaking on Sunday, Sharma said he “doesn’t doubt that all forms of discrimination” exist, such as gender, sex, religious, or racial discrimination.
“But what we have seen is a crisis in Australia only to do with the persecution and harassment of one community — the Jewish community,” he said.
SBS
