Genocide: Massacres, torture, expulsion: Other incidents: Islamophobia in Australia is distrust and hostility towards Muslims, Islam, and those perceived as following the religion.
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.
[3] Islamophobia in Australia is understood as a set of negative beliefs concerning the religion of Islam, as well as a contemporary outlet for general public anger and resentment towards migration and multiculturalism.
Anti-Muslim prejudices are thought to be sourced from a perceived lack of integration among Muslim migrants, and reconfiguration of community and ethnic politics.
[3] As part of Islamophobia, Muslims were reduced to caricatures of misogynists and oppressed women; violent men were thought as inclined to terrorism.
[7] 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.
[9] 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.
[13] A report from Australia has found that the levels of Islamophobia among Buddhists and Hindus are significantly higher than among followers of other religions.
[17] 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.
[15] 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".
[31][37] protested Zaky Mallah's appearance on Q&A, a television programme, by roasting a pig outside the Melbourne office of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation building, in an apparent attempt to offend Muslims.
[42][43] In 2016, a billboard promoting Australia Day celebrations in the Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne was removed after threats and abuse were directed at the advertising company.
[44] Islamophobia was documented at a Q Society fundraising dinner, with numerous guest speakers including current members of the Australian Government present.
Speaker Larry Pickering stating that "If they (Muslims) are in the same street as me, I start shaking",[45] and that "They are not all bad, they do chuck pillow-biters off buildings.
[45] Another Larry Pickering cartoon auctioned at the fundraiser depicted an Imam as a pig (in Islam the consumption of all pork products is considered haram or forbidden), being spit roasted, with a "halal certified" stamp on its rump.
[47] Sitting members of the Australian Government, Cory Bernardi and George Christensen, attracted criticism for speaking at the Q Society of Australia.
Tarrant was regarded as a white nationalist and a neo-fascist who sought to foster an "atmosphere of fear" within the Muslim community.
[56][57] In 2014, filmmaker Kamal Saleh orchestrated a social experiment to test how Australians would react if they witnessed a Muslim person being abused.
The network has active members across Australia who write articles for the media and academic journals and make public comment.
The website acts as a clearing house for alleged anti-Muslim bigotry, advertising events and centralising research and information.
Professor of Psychology, Nick Haslam from the University of Melbourne says the use of this type of word, "brushes aside opinions we dislike by invalidating the people who hold them ... and closes the door on dialogue".