Australian Muslims voice concern about rising Islamophobia

An Australian Muslim advocacy group expressed concern over a recent report that shows anti-Muslim behavior is increasing among people in the country.

"We have repeatedly expressed concern to government about the rising levels of Islamophobia, anti-Muslim rhetoric and the contributors of these issues. This is a problem for all of Australia," the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils said in a statement on Tuesday.

The report, Mapping Social Cohesion 2019 by Scanlon Foundation Research Institute, was produced by Monash University researchers who used a survey based on 90 questions.

The findings shows that Australians have become more concerned about climate change, while their attitudes on immigration and democracy have remained stable over the past 12 months.

The report said that 42% of Muslims who were interviewed by the researchers for the report revealed that they faced discrimination in last 12 months because of their identity.

The report comes in the wake of an Islamophobic attack on a pregnant Muslim lady last week in Sydney who was wearing headscarf. The attack created outrage across the world.

"These results [of the survey] are a concern for us but unfortunately not a surprise," said Rateb Jneid, who is president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils Inc (AFIC).

"We believe that this situation has been contributed to by a range of issues including the way in which Muslims are conveyed in the public discourse," Jneid added.

Jneid said that AFIC will engage with the government on this issue.

"The solution to changing this lies with all of Australia, Muslim and non-Muslim, migrant and indigenous, the political left and the political right," he concluded.