Islamophobic graffiti found in Sydney suburb sparks outrage

Islamophobic graffiti has been found in a multicultural suburb in the west of the Australian city of Sydney, with the police launching an investigation into the incident.

Police received reports on Sunday morning of offensive graffiti spray-painted on a bridge underpass near a busy shopping area that includes numerous halal restaurants and grocers in the western Sydney suburb of Chester Hill, New South Wales.

The pejorative words and slogans were in denunciation of Islam and had been painted onto both sides of the underpass and scrawled on a nearby advertising billboard.

Chester Hill has one of the largest Muslim populations in the state, with nearly 40% of residents identifying as Muslim, according to census figures

NSW police said if someone was arrested they would “likely” be charged with a hate crime due to the offensive graffiti.

NSW Premier Chris Minns was quick to hit out at the religious vilification and said the Chester Hill action was designed to sow discord in the community.

Minns described the vandalism as “abhorrent” and said the people responsible would face the “full force of the law.”

“Vandalism like this that is aimed at particular religions is designed to incite hatred and is completely abhorrent,” he said.

“This racism and Islamophobia is disgusting and corrosive to the very fabric of the successful multicultural state that we have here in NSW. Division and conflict from around the world cannot be allowed to be imported onto the streets of Sydney.”

Federal Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke similarly condemned the graffiti as an act of “hatred” and “bigotry.”

“Like other forms of dehumanizing abuse, Islamophobia has no place in Australia,” the minister said.

Jason Clare, a fellow federal minister and the local MP for Blaxland, called the vandalism a “gutless attack on our community.”

“This is disgusting,” Clare said. “People in my community are hurting because of the conflict in the Middle East. There is no place in Australia for Islamophobia.”

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A spokesperson for the Australian National Imams Council called for “immediate and decisive action” from federal and state governments to address what it described as a “surge” in Islamophobic incidents.

“This rise in hate crimes and discriminatory behavior highlights a critical failure to address systemic Islamophobia effectively,” the council said.

“Governments at all levels must recognize this escalating crisis and implement robust measures to combat it … to ensure the safety and well-being of all communities in Australia.”

The organization called on governments to strengthen anti-racism policies and police to “prioritize hate crime investigations.”

David Ossip, the 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.

Gamel Kheir, the secretary of the Lebanese Muslim Association, called for Australian politicians to support the Muslim community.

“Sadly many in our community have seen and felt the ugly racist elements in Australia. This has been a recurring theme our community has experienced for well over 20 years,” Kheir said.

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