Fatema Almussawi
An Australian Muslim woman, 21, was viciously attacked at Swanston Street, outside Melbourne State Library, Melbourne, on October 22.
The crime appears to be an Islamophobic attack although the male attacker who managed to escape the scene was unable to be identified. The perpetrator fled after allegedly punching the victim repeatedly twice and attempted to rip off her hijab.
The perpetrator involved was described by witnesses as having a strong build with tattoos on his arm and chest and was topless at the time of the attack.
A Muslim teenager rushed to the young woman’s aid upon witnessing the assault. The 16-year-old boy was reportedly threatened by the attacker after trying to drag the young woman away from him. As the young boy was attempting to usher the young woman to safety the assailant allegedly pulled out a knife which was ‘thrust in the boys’ face.
The teen later said that these types of attacks are ‘heart-breaking’ and “people need to be strong and stand up for what’s right.”The father of the boy reported the incident to the Islamophobia Register Australia to seek out help for the young woman.
The Islamophobia Register stated that the police were summoned to the scene of the crime and an ambulance then took the young woman to hospital.Victoria Police affirmed that the female victim was examined by paramedics at the scene after the incident took place.
The attacker is still yet to be found.
Secretary of the Islamic Council of Victoria, Kuranda Seyfi Seyit, shared his thoughts on the incident in an interview with The Muslim News. “It was quite disturbing. It was clear that this was an unprovoked assault, and we can only assume that the offender targeted this woman because she is a Muslim identified by her headscarf.”
The young teen who intervened commented that he fears the attack will have a negative impact on Australia’s Muslim community. “I just hate that this victim, her family and other Muslim youth will be scared to go into the city again even though it’s an amazing place,” he said. He also commented on the members of the public who have spoken out in support of the victim. “I’m so happy to see the true Australian people stand up to help the victims and Muslim community affected throughout these horrifying attacks.”
Syeit suggested preventative measures that can be considered to tackle the issue of these rising attacks. “We need to do more in educating the public about Islam and to breakdown the negative stereotypes about Muslims which usually stem from foreign conflicts abroad that have no relevance to average law-abiding Muslim Australians.”
He also suggested that politicians should condemn “Islamophobic movements that have been prominent in the past year, targeting Islam and demonizing Muslims.” And that hate crimes should be treated differently from other incidents in order to “send a strong message to would-be attackers that the full force of the law will come down on anyone who commits acts of violence based on religious.”
Syeit also said that the rise in these kinds of incidences is influenced by “the lack of leadership and the Government’s inability to address the problem proactively and promptly.”
“The Government has in fact added to the negative stereotypes by making inflammatory comments or being silent on acts of Islamophobia calling it ‘free speech,” he added.
