A primary school and Islamic center in Dee Why suburb in northern Sydney have been targeted by offensive placards, which carried hate message against the religious minority as the school children marked Harmony Day.
“It was atrocious that they were put up outside one of most multicultural schools on the northern beaches,” Attorney-General and Wakehurst MP Brad Hazzard told Australia’s Daily Telegraph on Thursday, March 19.
“It’s even more atrocious that it was put up the week after the school celebrated Harmony Day,” he added.
Hazzard was commenting on the latest Islamophobic attack in Australia which targeted the Islamic Society Manly Warringah mosque on South Creek Rd.
Placards erected on a telegraph pole saying: “Islam = terrorism” and “Sharia free zone”.
At Dee Why Public School, children celebrating Harmony Day were confronted with signs saying: “Harmony Day is a racist attack on Australian Culture” and “Multiculturalism = division, hate and preference”.
Slamming the school signs as “pathetic, yesteryear xenophobia”, Hazzard also praised the Dee Why Islamic community.
“Our local Muslim population are extremely peaceful, respectful and respectable people and clearly they have a substantially better outlook on life than the people who put these signs up,” he said.
Seeing the signs as “disgusting”, Islamic Society Manly Warringah management Faris Bawazier said the response was heartening.
“I’m very, very thankful for the people who support us, especially our neighbors,” he said.
Muslims, who have been in Australia for more than 200 years, make up 1.7 percent of its 20-million population.
In post 9/11-era, Australian Muslims have been haunted with suspicion and have had their patriotism questioned.
The anti-Muslim sentiments further increased following recent anti-terror raids, deemed the biggest in Australian history, in which 15 people were arrested from north-western Sydney.
The raids were followed by a huge number of anti-Muslim attacks, including a mosque being defaced in Queensland and direct threats issued against the Grand Mufti of Australia.
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