The heinous terrorist attack on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, resulting in 15 deaths, was a gruesome, glaring crime against humanity which was universally and unequivocally condemned. The perpetrator was a Hyderabadi, Indian, Naveed Akram, who launched a cowardly assault on the Australian Jewish community celebrating Hanukkah. While this vile act is reprehensible, the crass Islamophobia in Australia that followed was unfathomable and unwarranted. The brazen desecration of mosques and cemeteries from Perth to Sydney took place despite Australian-born, Syrian citizen Ahmed al-Ahmed successfully disarming the terrorist and saving more Australian lives.

The swathe of attacks against the Muslim community, however, has only served to widen cleavages in a country that often prides itself on multiculturalism and pluralism. The attacks also took place despite the Australian Muslim fruit shop owner being hailed by President Anthony Albanese as an example of "Australians" coming together.

In truth, the severity of the Islamophobic attacks, which include the dissemination of disinformation, underlines how anti-Muslim hate remains an existential threat in Australia, with the Bondi Beach terrorist attack in 2025 acting as a trigger.

Canberra’s hypocritical approach

Australia has long had problems with white supremacy, far-right bigotry and Islamophobic rhetoric. Bigoted mindsets on immigration and Islam even reach the top echelons of power in the parliament. No more is this evident than in the aftermath of the 2019 Christchurch Mosque attacks in New Zealand, which resulted in over 50 Muslim deaths. Despite the perpetrator, Brenton Tarrant, being an Australian citizen and hailing from Grafton, Australia, Senator Fraser Anning brazenly blamed Muslim immigration for triggering the white supremacist attack. While voices of reason do exist in Canberra, political figures such as Senator Pauline Hanson of the One Nation party regularly castigated and reprimanded Muslims in Australia for the dress they wear and their perceived national security threat to the country.

Adding to this are groups such as the "Lads Society," which prides itself on anti-Islam rhetoric with clubhouses in Sydney and Melbourne. Figures such as Blair Cottrell of the "United Patriots Front" have also featured on national television despite espousing views such as executing immigrants and glorifying Nazism. Brenton Tarrant, the Christchurch terrorist, also hailed Cottrell as an "emperor." The harrowing reality is that such undeniable realities have existed in Australian society with impunity.

Such Islamophobia and Islamophobes also predate Israel’s genocide, which started on Oct. 7, 2023. Since then, anti-Muslim hate became more pronounced, overt and widespread across Australia. Take the state of New South Wales, which witnessed a 1,300% increase in incidents ranging from harassment, vandalism, online hate speech and discrimination after Oct. 7. Additionally, between 2023 and 2024, trends in NSW became nearly ubiquitous across the country. Such anti-Islam hatred prevailed before the 2025 Bondi Beach terrorist attack and hence reveals a hypocritical approach on the part of Australia, which claims to safeguard all religious and ethnic groups.

Post Bondi Beach inflammation

Trends predating the Bondi Beach clearly amplified after the terrorist attack, which took place at Archer Park in December 2025. The attack was eventually foiled by al-Ahmed, who neutralized the terrorist, Naveed Akram and prevented the death toll from spiraling out of control. Al-Ahmad was hailed as a shining light within Australia, while New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani praised him as an example of coexistence and bravery. Locally, he was considered by residents such as Adam Pogorzelski from the suburb of Sunderland as "encompassing the Aussie spirit." In essence, al-Ahmed was a shining light for all Muslims, including hundreds of thousands living in Australia, where his bravery also demonstrated how Muslims stood against all forms of terrorism.

Yet in Australia, some groups wrongfully implicated the broader Muslim community in the terrorist attack despite Ahmed’s courage. Ideally, in such scenarios, the Muslim community should feel secure and part of the wider community. However, what was witnessed were harrowing incidents in different parts of the country. A Muslim cemetery in Sydney, for example, was desecrated with pig heads being hurled, while a mosque in Queensland was vandalized with Nazi graffiti and symbols being drawn on its walls.

While such attacks resulted in nationwide outrage and announcements of new legislative measures, it does not undercut Islamophobia in Australia, which can continue to spring up the moment a terrorist attack takes place. Legislation passed includes widening the definitions of hate speech and imposing harsher penalties on hate mongers.

There is, however, little to no action against the enablers of Islamophobia in the country. The "Lads Society," the "True-Blue Crew" and figures such as Thomas Sewell, who actively promote the "White Genocide Theory," for example, continue to exist and operate with impunity. They promote conspiracy theories such as the Australian population being "replaced" by immigrants to target Muslims.

The Albanese government’s response to Islamophobia remains a convoluted legal and political terrain where attempting to balance the freedom of speech with the prevention of incitement is at loggerheads. Another policy is to review migration settings, which is already a controversial endeavor given that the country already has a Temporary Humanitarian Pathway (THP) for eligible Palestinians. The THP gives them work and study rights in the country, which suggests that stronger vetting risks infringing on civil liberties, especially for Muslims fleeing violence from Israel’s genocide and immigrating to Australia for a better life.

There is also little accountability of mainstream media channels promoting Islamophobic rhetoric, including Sky News, which has peddled conspiracy theories and demonized Muslims as perpetrators rather than victims. There is no evidence to suggest that Muslims living in Australia are "anti-Semitic," yet these sources condemn all Muslims for the vile attack in Bondi Beach.

Islamophobia in Australia remains a disturbing reality, with little to suggest that it will subside. Unfortunately, this persists in a country that claims to be a model of multiculturalism and peaceful coexistence. Not enough is being done.