Islamophobic attacks in Australia have reached 'crisis levels’: Report

KARACHI, Pakistan

Islamophobic attacks in Australia have reached "crisis levels," with incidents of abuse perpetrated against Muslims more than doubling in the past two years, new research showed.

The incidents were reported between January 2023 and November 2024, according to a new report by the Islamophobia Register of Australia compiled by researchers from Monash and Deakin universities.

According to the report, Muslim women and girls were targeted in 60% of physical assaults, 79% of verbal assaults and all spitting incidents, almost all of which were committed by men.

In total, the report estimated there were 309 in-person incidents.

The researchers involved in the study examined data from hundreds of reports made to the Islamophobia Register of Australia, in addition to 18,000 social media posts shared on X during the period.

A quarter of all incidents recorded in the study account for abuses against people who visibly represented pro-Palestinian sentiment following the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Israel.

Nora Amath, executive director of the Islamophobia Register of Australia, said the data shows the issue cannot be ignored by authorities.

"The evidence is irrefutable. Islamophobia is not only real but has reached crisis levels in Australia," she said in a statement.