Combat Islamophobia, Not Its Victims
On the eve of the International Day to Combat Islamophobia and the sixth anniversary of the Christchurch mosque massacre, the Greens Deputy Leader and Anti-racism spokesperson, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, has called on the Prime Minister to stop the targeting of Muslims, Arabs and Palestinians and to start combatting rising Islamophobia.
Following the publication of the Fifth Islamophobia in Australia report, Senator Faruqi has written to the Prime Minister urging the government to drop the one-sided approach to racism, unequivocally acknowledge the breadth and depth of rising Islamophobia and reject political narratives that fuel Islamophobia.
Senator Faruqi said:
“Rather than tackling Islamophobia with the urgency it deserves, Muslim, Arab and Palestinian communities who are bearing the brunt of this racism are being silenced, demonised and gaslighted, especially over the last 18 months of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
“It has been six years since an Australian far-right terrorist murdered 51 people in a Christchurch mosque. This should have been a turning point but both Labor and the Liberals still ignore the reality for Muslims in this country, treating us like second class citizens.
“It is 2025 and mosques are threatened with violence, racist graffiti is rampant and people are losing their jobs and being demonised in the media for opposing a genocide.
“Communities are suffering but the Prime Minister refuses to treat Islamophobia like the emergency it is. In fact, the Labor Party is pouring fuel into the fire through its complicity in Israel’s genocide on the Palestinian people.
“It is deeply disturbing that Muslim women are largely the target of the rise in Islamophobia. The particularly toxic crossover of racism and sexism really harms us.
“People are rightly angry at the double standards in the way Muslims in this country are treated. The Prime Minister must drop the one-sided approach to racism, unequivocally acknowledge the breadth and depth of rising Islamophobia and loudly reject political narratives that fuel fear, blame and hatred against Muslims.
“Muslim communities are not hapless victims of racism. We are sick and tired of being taken for granted, used as photo props and for harvesting votes. People are organising and ready to hold political leaders who have failed them to account.
“We’ve had enough. People are hurt, angry and frustrated by the glaring double standards and hypocrisy of the two big parties when it comes to tackling Islamophobia. We can see right through them.
“Politicians deliberately neglect, and even deny, Islamophobia while hiding behind whitewashed buzzwords. All this does is bury the truth and entrench white privilege.
“I urge the Prime Minister to fully fund the implementation of the National Anti-racism Framework in the upcoming budget so we can start to eliminate all forms of racism, bigotry and hate.
“The Greens are the only party with an anti-racism portfolio, and the only party committed to fighting all forms of racism, something that the Labor and Liberal parties cannot say.
https://greens.org.au/news/media-release/combat-rising-islamophobia-not-community-bearing-its-brunt