Two mosques have been targeted for suspected firebombing as many Muslim Australians say they are victims of Islamophobic abuse in the wake of the war between Israel and Hamas.
A gas cylinder was set on fire outside the Al-Khalil Mosque in Adelaide’s northwest about 2am on Monday and four days earlier a fire was deliberately set outside the Marion Mosque in the city’s south.
Firefighters were forced to extinguish the gas cylinder inferno, while a member of the public extinguished the initial fire.
“Such actions are completely unacceptable, and we are aware that the wider community strongly condemns these cowardly acts,” the Islamic Society of SA wrote on Facebook.
A gas cylinder was set on fire outside the Al-Khalil Mosque in Adelaide’s northwest about 2am on Monday (pictured) and four days earlier a fire was deliberately set outside the Marion Mosque in the city’s south (below)
The organization said community members fear for their safety, and called on the media and politicians to stop presenting a “one-sided” view of the conflict that is inflaming the situation at home.
But an SA Police spokesperson said they do not believe the fires are linked or that they were racially motivated.
Ahmed Zreika, president of the Islamic Society of SA, told The Advertiser he believed the incidents were “hate crimes”.
“This is a hate crime because the perpetrator committed the crime because of his hatred of Muslims,” Mr Zreika said.
“There is no doubt that what is happening in Palestine and Israel, and the support of Western media and politicians for Israel, has fueled this mentality among a certain segment of people, increasing fear of Islam and Muslims.”
No one was injured as a result of the incidents, but Islamophobic comments targeting the mosques and a school with a large proportion of Muslim students have increased significantly, an Islamic Association spokeswoman said.
She said community members had been told “Go back where you came from” and “we don’t want you here.”
South Australian senator and opposition foreign affairs spokesperson Simon Birmingham denounced the abuse against Muslim Australians.
The Islamic Society of SA condemned the incidents, but police said they believe the two fires are unrelated and were not radically motivated
Firefighters were forced to extinguish the gas cylinder fire outside the Al-Khalil Mosque in Adelaide’s northwest (pictured)
“Islamophobia must be condemned, as should anti-Semitism and all hateful acts motivated by faith, race or other characteristics,” he wrote on X.
“Australians of any faith should feel safe and welcome.”
The Australian Islamophobia Register has received a tenfold increase in reports of Islamophobic incidents through their online form.
Despite the abuses experienced by the Muslim community in Australia, their concerns are primarily for those in the conflict zone who face the threat of death on a daily basis.
“What we are experiencing is nothing compared to what the Palestinians are experiencing and our prayers are with them,” the SA Islamic Society spokeswoman said.