Islamophobia is distrust and hostility against Muslims and those perceived as following the religion, and occurs in Australia. It is often facilitated and perpetuated in the media through the stereotyping of Muslims as violent and uncivilised. Various Australian politicians and political commentators have capitalised on these negative stereotypes and this has contributed to the marginalisation, discrimination, and exclusion of the Muslim community.
Although the interior of the continent had been opened up largely through the assistance of "Afghan" cameleers, many of whom were Muslim, Muslim immigration to Australia was restricted under the White Australia policy, in existence from 1901 to 1975.
Background
Muslims have a long history in Australia, from Makassan trepang traders from Sulawesi from at least the 18th century or earlier.Russell, L. (2020). "First contact with Indigenous Australians? Captain Cook missed that boat by centuries". Monash Lens. Online. The interior of the continent was opened up for telegraph and then railway communications largely through the assistance of "Afghan" cameleers from the 1860s.Jones, Philip G and Kenny, Anna (2007) Australia's Muslim cameleers: pioneers of the inland, 1860s–1930s Kent Town, S. Aust. : Wakefield Press.
Definition and theories Islamophobia may be described as distrust and hostility towards Muslims, Islam, and those perceived as following the religion. This social aversion and bias is often facilitated and perpetuated in the media through the stereotyping of Muslims as violent and uncivilised. Various Australian politicians and political commentators have capitalised on these negative stereotypes and this has contributed to the marginalisation, discrimination and exclusion of the Muslim community.
Anti-Muslim prejudices are thought to be sourced from a perceived lack of integration among Muslim migrants, and reconfiguration of community and ethnic politics. Muslims have sometimes been reduced to caricatures of misogynists and oppressed women; violent men were thought as inclined to terrorism. The Australian media is noted for presenting portrayals of Muslim immigrants in a negative manner, although in comparison to other Western countries, Australian media exhibits less bias as a result of its coverage of the everyday life of Australian Muslims.
According to some scholars, public discourse rectifying negative images of Islamic culture result in an unfounded fear of actual Muslims; public discourse focusing on the Western values of women's rights enabled Islam and Islamic clerics to be portrayed as misogynist and oppressive towards women.
Some theorists maintain that, increasingly since 11 September 2001, the Australian public has attributed Australian Muslims with a sense of "otherness", using social constructions and generic misrepresentations of Muslims as a way to regain existential control in a post-9/11 world. Online version. Some scholars have argued that the rise of militant Islam in Australia has led to the increase in Islamophobia and undone efforts by Muslims to foster positive relations with the Australian public.
Incidence General prevalence Estimates of the prevalence of anti-Muslim sentiment in Australia differ. A large-scale poll published in 2011 found that 48.6 per cent of Australians had a negative opinion of Islam. Another survey published in 2014 found that a quarter of Australians held anti-Muslim views; this incidence was five times higher than that for any other religion. The latter survey also found that 27 per cent of Muslim Australians have experienced discrimination, which was also the highest of any of the religions covered in the study. A poll conducted by the University of South Australia's International Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding released in 2016 found that 10 per cent of Australians have hostile attitudes towards Muslims. Older people, those who had not completed year 12 and people outside the workforce were more likely to report anti-Muslim attitudes in this poll. The accompanying report concluded that the poll shows that "most Australians display low levels of Islamophobia".
A 2015 report from Australia found that the levels of Islamophobia among Buddhists and Hindus were significantly higher than among followers of other religions.r Riaz Hassan and Bill Martin. Islamophobia, social distance and fear of terrorism in Australia: a preliminary report. International Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding, 2015. ISBN 978-0-9874076-2-7
Certain incidents have led to incidents of Islamophobic incidents. Since Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, threats towards Muslims, which formerly averaged around 2.5 cases a week before, increased by 636% by March 2026. The ensuing Gaza war also led to greater antisemitism in Australia. The massacre of Australian Jews at Bondi Beach in December 2025 led to increased fear and hate of Muslims, with reported incidents up by 201% by March 2026 - when there were around 18 cases a week.
In politics Senator Pauline Hanson, leader of One Nation party, is known for her frequent criticisms of Islam and Muslims.
In the 2019 Australian federal election, ten parties were listed by the "My vote matters" campaign, an initiative of the Islamic Council of Victoria, as openly Islamophobic, with a number of minor parties including such policies as well. Fraser Anning's Conservative National Party was included in the list. The issue only arose briefly as an election issue when two Liberal candidates were disendorsed after their views previously expressed on social media were publicised.
The Albanese government appointed a Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia, Aftab Malik, in September 2024. However, many leaders in Muslim communities say that not enough is being done, with politicians such as Hanson dog-whistling racists, along with uncontrolled hate speech on social media.
In November 2025, Hanson wore a burqa in the Australian Parliament, in a stunt designed to bring a motion to "ban the burqa", and was suspended for a week. In March 2026, she was censured by the Senate after suggesting that there were no "good" Muslims.
Incidents
First Gulf War (1990s) During the First Gulf War, there were a number of racist attacks, in some cases including violence against Arabs and Muslims, including property damage; Arab-owned shops were looted and vandalised and Islamic institutions received bomb threats. People with the surname "Hussein" received harassment calls. The Muslim community also dealt with stigmatisation as a result of ASIO's anti-terror efforts. The Australian media had reported that based on ASIO intelligence, New South Wales would be the target of a terrorist attack. In a counterterrorism effort, a number of Arabs and Muslims, including a number of political activists, were visited by ASIO personnel; ASIO also conducted a number of wiretaps on Arab and Muslim Australians. No such attack did occur, although the Jewish community experienced a number of racist attacks. Initially, Muslims were blamed for the attacks on the Jewish institutions. However, the New South Wales Anti-Discrimination Board concluded that there was insufficient evidence that Muslims were behind the attack.
Opposition to Halal certification (2014)
In 2014, anti-Islam groups campaigned against Australian food companies in an attempt to stop them having their food certified as being halal. The groups argued that the cost of certification increases the prices of food to all consumers, and that the fees charged for certification were used to fund terrorism. In November 2014 Fleurieu Milk & Yoghurt Company stopped producing halal products after being targeted by campaigners, and a number of other large and small companies were also reported to have been targeted. Keysar Trad from the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils told a journalist in July 2014 that these groups were attempting to exploit anti-Muslim sentiments.
In 2015 the far-right and anti-Islam Q Society was involved in a defamation lawsuit over its claims that the Islamic certification industry is corrupt and funds "the push for sharia law in Australia". Legal proceedings against senior members of the Melbourne-based Q Society and Kirralie Smith, who runs the website HalalChoices, began after a speech was given at a Q Society event that portrayed El-Mouelhy as "part of a conspiracy to destroy Western civilisation from within" and "reasonably suspected of providing financial support to terrorist organisations". El-Mouelhy says that he has been defamed in relation to the proceeds of halal certification. This case has now been settled out of court.
In response to the comments made by Smith and HalalChoices, officials from the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission have stated that the commission has been on "heightened lookout" for links between halal certifiers and terrorism since the issue surfaced but has "not found any direct linkages". Furthermore, a Senate inquiry into food certification asserted that there was "no link" between the religious approval process and extremist groups. It recommended that the federal government increase its oversight of domestic halal certifiers to address fraudulent conduct in the sector. It said that it had heard, "credible reports suggesting that the lack of regulation has been unscrupulously exploited". In tabling the report, committee chairman Sam Dastyari said, "Some certifiers are nothing more than scammers." The committee recommended a single halal certification authority. The committee in recommending clearer labelling, specifically referred to the need for meat processors to label products sourced from animals subject to religious slaughter.
As of 27 February 2017, as part of a settlement agreement, Smith and the Q Society have publicly apologised and agreed to display notice of the settlement on their respective websites for one year. The case was settled out of court.
Bendigo mosque protests (2014–15)
In 2014 the City of Greater Bendigo announced the construction of a m mosque and Islamic community centre in Bendigo, Victoria. Some residents created a "Stop the Mosque in Bendigo" group and certain far-right organisations, in particular the Q Society, mobilised residents and brought in outsiders to oppose the construction by conducting extensive protests. The society organised a meeting on 11 May 2014 with residents opposed to the building of the mosque to provide advice on protesting and also distributed pamphlets containing anti-Islam hate speech at the council meeting which voted to go ahead with the project. The Bendigo and Adelaide Bank openly supported the building and funding of a mosque and closed the account of the Stop the Mosque group, saying that the group did not share its values.
In October 2015, around 1,000 people turned up for a protest organised by the United Patriots Front (UPF), many having travelled from far afield. Members of the extremist group Right Wing Resistance Australia travelled from interstate, and the Rise Up Australia Party was also represented. There was also a counter-demonstration to that of the far-right groups. Over 420 mounted police, riot squad and other police officers were assigned to oversee the rallies, and two arrests were made for carrying knives, one for carrying a flare and another for minor assault.
Rallies and violent confrontations (2015) Anti-Islam Reclaim Australia rallies have been held across Australia since 2015. Reclaim Australia is a far-right nationalist protest group which is associated with neo-Nazi and other nationalist hate groups. The group was formed in 2015, holding street rallies in cities across Australia to protest against Islam.