Muslim hate has reached 'unprecedented levels', says Australian Islamophobia report

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday that his government would consider the recommendations of an independent report on Islamophobia, which warned that anti-Muslim sentiment in Australia had reached “unprecedented levels.”

The report, prepared by Aftab Malik, the government’s special envoy tasked with addressing Islamophobia, stated that hostility towards Muslims had become so normalised that many cases were no longer being reported.

“The reality is that Islamophobia in Australia has been persistent, at times ignored and other times denied, but never fully addressed,” Malik told reporters at a briefing in Sydney, where Albanese was also present.

“We have seen public abuse, graffiti... we have seen Muslim women and children targeted, not for what they have done, but for who they are and what they wear,” he added.

Spanning 60 pages, the document put forward 54 recommendations, including a proposal for a national inquiry into religious discrimination and an assessment of Islamophobia’s impact on social cohesion and democracy.

Malik, who was appointed last year, was asked to develop measures to counter anti-Muslim hatred following a sharp rise in Islamophobia and antisemitism in Australia after Israel’s war in Gaza nearly two years ago.

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“The 7 October 2023 attacks in Israel mark the most recent turning point, where Islamophobia has since reached unprecedented levels,” the report noted.

According to the Islamophobia Register, hate incidents surged by 150 percent by November 2024 after the conflict began.

Albanese stressed that discrimination against Australians on the basis of their faith undermines the nation’s values, vowing to give the recommendations serious consideration.

“Australians should be able to feel safe at home in any community ... we must stamp out the hate, fear and prejudice that drives Islamophobia and division in our society,” the prime minister said.

In July, a separate report from the envoy on antisemitism had urged the government to cut funding to universities that failed to safeguard Jewish students and to introduce screening measures for visa applicants and non-citizens to detect extremist views.