The Queensland premier, David Crissafuli, has condemned separate alleged threats against a Muslim school and a mosque in recent days as the community says it’s facing heightened “fear and anxiety”.
The Muslim community says people are living in fear after an alleged bomb threat at a school and a threatening email was sent to a mosque last week, according to the Islamophobia register.
The Islamic College of Brisbane received a threatening email last Friday, and the Arundel Mosque on the Gold Coast an alleged bomb hoax on Sunday evening.
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The Islamophobia Register Australia said it had grave concerns as the community was living in a heightened state of “fear and anxiety”.
Crisafulli said most Queenslanders were tolerant and welcoming of others, but “there are a handful of people who have hate in their heart”.
“Anyone who goes to a place of worship and tries to threaten and bully and make someone feel unwelcome and unsafe, well, they need the full force of the law to come down on them, and we need to call it out (as political leaders),” he said.
Nora Amath, a co-executive director of the Islamophobia register said the alleged threats have traumatised the broader Muslim community and constituted “an attack on the fundamental principles of safety, inclusivity, and respect that underpin Australia’s multicultural society”.
The register is a not-for-profit organisation providing a platform for reporting incidents of Islamophobia. Its annual report, released in May with assistance from academics from Monash and Deakin universities, documents an alarming escalation of Islamophobia in Australia during 2023-2024.
After the 7 October attacks in Israel, reports to the register increased by 1,300% compared with the same period the previous year, it said, with victims displaying Palestinian symbols accounting for one-quarter of all reported incidents.
Amath called on police to treat the issue with the utmost urgency.
“The register further calls upon political leaders and members of the public to speak out against Islamophobia, racism, and xenophobia in all their manifestations,” he said.
The Australian National Imams Council said it was “deeply alarmed” by the Friday threats.
A spokesperson for the Queensland Police Service said a 34-year-old man from Labrador had been charged in connection with the alleged bomb hoax, as well as alleged trespass and allegedly obstructing police over the mosque incident.
Police responded to reports of an alleged suspicious item at the mosque at about 8.43pm.
“The Explosive Ordinance Response Team located the device and deemed it safe,” the spokesperson said.
“There was no risk to the community”.
He will appear in Southport magistrates court on Tuesday, and has been remanded in custody.
The spokesperson said it had been determined that the “threatening message” sent to the school posed no risk to students, staff or the community.
“There is nothing to suggest this was religiously or racially motivated”.
About 1,692 students are enrolled at the Islamic college, which is in Karawatha in Brisbane’s south. Students are predominantly Muslim, but the school also enrols students of all religions and cultural backgrounds.
