Migrant and refugee settlement agency AMES Australia has welcomed the release of the federal government’s national response to Islamophobia report today.
The report says Islamophobia has been on the rise in Australia over the two decades since the September 11 terror attacks and has skyrocketed since the October 7, 2023, terror attack in Israel.
The ‘National Response to Islamophobia: A Strategic Framework for Inclusion, Safety and Prosperity’ report contains 54 recommendations across every government agency.
AMES CEO Melinda Collinson said the report was welcome and would be a step towards greater social cohesion.
“We work with Islamic communities, and we see the damage islamophobia can do to individuals and communities. So, the recommendations are very welcome and will go some way to assuaging the worries some people and communities face,” Ms Collinson said.
“More than that, it sends a message that Australia values these communities, and we want to connect with them as a society and empower them to take a full place in our multicultural landscape,” she said.
Handing down his report in Canberra, Multicultural Envoy Aftab Malik said Islamophobia had been “persistent” and “never fully addressed”.
He said the report “proposes a way forward for the religious protection of all religious communities who have not been afforded this to date”.
“Islamophobia is a deeply ingrained societal challenge,” Mr Malik said.
The recommendations encompass the inclusion of religion – and particularly Islam – in anti-discrimination laws, reviewing anti-terror laws to determine if they target Muslims and support for capacity building of communities and mechanisms for reporting Islamophobia.
One focus of the report is Muslim women, who comprise the majority of targets of reported incidents of everyday Islamophobia because of their visibility.
It says many have been “subjected to foul, disgusting and degrading behaviour”.