Last month, in December 2024, violent incidents in Granville and Bankstown have highlighted what many in the Muslim community have long suspected: when a violent attack targets a Muslim, the Australian Federal Government, mainstream media, and law enforcement seem far less inclined to respond swiftly—or at all—compared to situations in which Muslims are accused of violence.
Such double standards create disillusionment, erode trust in institutions, and leave the Muslim community feeling exposed and unsafe.
On Friday 20 December 2024, a woman named ‘Mariam’ and her 10-year-old child were shopping at the Kmart store in Bankstown and allegedly endured a violently aggressive physical and verbal attack having boxes thrown at her inside a Kmart in Bankstown.
In the video that circulated on social media, the alleged perpetrator gave Mariam her the middle finger before yelling: “Are you proud of wearing ‘from the river to the sea?’” and she also yelled “F*ck Allah, every f*cking day. FUck off,” Their apparent offense? Mariam was wearing a shirt emblazoned with pro-Palestine references.
Mariam waited three hours for police to arrive, until she could no longer wait for their response (or lack of it), so she left. The incident initially received almost no media coverage and only surfaced publicly through social media posts.
In response to the lack of response by local Bankstown Police, a snap rally took place the following day on Sunday morning outside Bankstown Police Station, where Mariam was one of the speakers amongst others who were protesting the police’s delayed reaction to the incident. A video was posted on social media of Mariam’s speech.
Mariam revealed another horrifying detail: the same alleged suspect had reportedly targeted and attempted to ram her car into a prominent Muslim community leader, Shaykh Wesam Cherkawi. This individual apparently waited outside his workplace, intending to use a vehicle as a weapon against him—a chilling development that went largely unnoticed until the Muslim community itself compelled the authorities to act.
‘This person who is on the loose, not sure now, has threatened and assaulted various people in our community. Not just that, she attempted to murder one of our people. She stalked and found out where somebody in our community works, waited for them outside their workplace and decided to ram their car into them. They are very lucky that a student was crossing, and they decided to break. We are talking about Shaykh Wesam Cherkawi. Shaykh Wesam Cherkawi was almost killed last Wednesday by the same person who threatened to kill me at my local Kmart shopping centre.”
There was CCTV footage of both incidents.
We were left shocked and dismayed not only about the Kmart incident, but that one of the most senior religious figures were deliberately targeted, yet we did know about this until Mariam disclosed this at the rally.
One would have thought that NSW Police would have at least raised the alarm as an act of community service advising th Muslim community to be vigilant. A proper investigation into the attempted violent assault of Shaykh Wesam that took place on 18th of December, may have prevented the Kmart incident.
What we have been conditioned to adopt in many governmental and law enforcement circles, it appears almost inconceivable that political violence can be directed at Muslims in a way that meets the threshold of terrorism.
Conversely, when the suspect is Muslim, no effort is spared in determining whether religion played a role. This incongruity preserves an Islamophobic narrative: Muslims can only be the perpetrators of terrorism, never the victims.
Furthermore, the question of mental health is often weaponised inconsistently. A non-Muslim aggressor is frequently recast as someone who merely acted out due to mental health challenges, thereby mitigating or dismissing the political dimension of their violence.
In contrast, if the perpetrator is Muslim, the discourse swiftly pivots to religious radicalisation, overshadowing any other potential factors. Such a discrepancy in framing perpetuates the notion that Islam itself is inherently tied to extremist violence, while white or non-Muslim perpetrators are granted far more leniency in how their actions are explained to the public.
Given there was no news in any space whether in the form of mainstream media, Muslim community press-releases, or any information In the Granville and Bankstown cases, a broader community effort was required to unearth details, share information, and exert enough public pressure for authorities to finally make an arrest on the later evening of 22 December 2024.
This, despite the alleged perpetrator publicly admitting on social media that she intended to harm a “terrorist Palestinian Sheikh.” The notion that local residents effectively had to conduct their own investigation—while their taxes fund law enforcement agencies—speaks to deep-seated biases that hinder the timely protection of Muslims under threat.
Furthermore, on the NSW Police website, stated: ‘She was taken to Granville Police Station and charged with publicly threaten violence on grounds of religion, behave in offensive manner in / near public place / school, use offensive language in / near public place / school and stalk / intimidate intend fear physical harm.’
This part of their public statement indicated that they were incorporating both the Kmart incident and the incident outside the Granville school. There was no mention that the perpetrator made statements that indicate, political-motivated and it was just listed as ‘racially=motivated’.
So, the fundamental question remains: Why does the concept of terrorism apply almost exclusively to Muslims, while non-Muslim aggressors are routinely cast as individuals suffering from mental health issues rather than perpetrators of ideologically driven violence?
This disparity not only perpetuates harmful stereotypes but also denies the real possibility that Muslims themselves can be victims of terrorism. When the public conversation never acknowledges that non-Muslims could harbor violent political motivations, it creates a skewed and dangerous narrative—one that leaves Muslim victims unprotected and unrecognized by the very system that should ensure justice.
It was not until Christmas day, a public holiday, that the first community press-release came out by the Australian National Imams Council on their social media platforms regarding the incident that involved Shaykh Wesam. They appropriately called it ‘an act of violence and terror’.
For the Muslim community who were left in the dark for longer than that was appropriate, given we have seen how how quickly politicians, mainstream media, etc respond to anti-Semitism violence.
What can be deduced from this delay, is the politicians own politicking, and selective biases given we know that Shaykh Wesam has been veery actively engaged in raising awareness of the plight of Palestinians and working with The Muslim Vote, an organisation campaigning to unseat Labor seats in Muslim-dominate electorates.
What is perhaps most concerning is the almost total silence from mainstream outlets and prominent government officials. Politicians who routinely condemn antisemitic graffiti or other hate-motivated attacks were conspicuously quiet about this violent act aimed at a Muslim religious figure. Where were the urgent statements, the press conferences, the widespread denunciations?
Australian leaders like Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and other federal ministers frequently describe hateful acts as “abhorrent” or “bigoted,” yet their collective voice was lacking in this instance. The result? The Muslim community rightfully questions whether political leaders apply a consistent standard of outrage—or if they reserve it for cases deemed more politically expedient.
Such inconsistency in responses has left many Australian Muslims unsettled and fearful. Repeated experiences of being overlooked or dismissed by law enforcement and government officials send a stark message: if you are Muslim, the processes and protections that should safeguard you are not guaranteed.
The fact that the community itself had to engage in grassroots efforts—sharing videos, rallying at the police station, and pressing for investigations—demonstrates a profound lack of confidence in institutional avenues of redress.
The large condemnation by political figures over Islamophobic graffiti that occurred in Chester Hill just before these incidents, and the deafening silence when one of our own religious leader and political activist who has worked tirelessly to give voice to the grieving Muslim community over the genocide taking place in Palestine was a victim of a planned terror-attack, has shown us that the carrying out of justice by authorities is conditional for Muslims.
Islamophobia isn’t just when interpersonal incidents take place in public space, it’s also very much institutional and perpetrated by the very Governments and authorities that tell us that they are taking measures to stamp out Islamophobia.
And who is best positioned according to the Prime Minister to protect that status quo where all gaze of Islamophobia is steered away from politicians and authority? The appointed Special Envoy for Islamophobia representative, Aftab malik, who has spent over 10 years before taking on this PM-appointed role working in the very Islamophobically-institutionalised space of Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) as a paid public servant of course. We should be so lucky?
The creation of a “Special Envoy for Islamophobia” has done little to assuage community anxieties. Many find it contradictory that someone deeply entrenched in countering violent extremism (CVE)—a framework often criticized for disproportionately targeting Muslims—could be expected to protect the rights of those very same communities. After all, one cannot simply unlearn or discard a decade of participation in policies that have historically stigmatised Muslims as the primary source of extremism.
It’s difficult to unlearn Government CVE-speak, immersed in this space for over 10 years, and then suddenly become the Muslim community champion working to stamp out Islamophobia overnight. It makes very little psychological sense.
So, we are faced with the reality that the journey towards some relief from systemic and intuitional Islamophobia continues to pretty much be stacked against us. A media release with no contact details was released by the Special Envoy for Islamophobia on the 27 December, 2024 about both incidents. What took so long?
Parents, community leaders, and everyday Muslim Australians are left questioning whether their safety is a genuine concern to authorities. This collective anxiety is magnified by a societal narrative that too often paints Muslims solely as perpetrators of extremism.
For families who have watched antisemitic or other hate crimes swiftly condemned, the silence surrounding attacks on Muslims underlines an unsettling truth: Their community’s well-being does not appear to command the same level of national empathy or attention.
Ultimately, the alleged attacks on a prominent Islamic leader and a Muslim woman with her young child highlight a painful truth: for Muslims in Australia, the pursuit of justice often feels conditional.
The incidents in Granville and Bankstown illuminate how mainstream media, law enforcement, and government officials appear all too willing to look the other way until a groundswell of community pressure forces their hand.
If the federal government genuinely wishes to combat all forms of hatred—Islamophobia and antisemitism alike—then consistency is crucial. Condemnation must not be selective. Swift, resolute action and media coverage should accompany any credible threat or act of violence, regardless of the faith of those targeted.
Until such uniformity is consistently observed, the Muslim community will remain justified in its concerns that its safety and dignity are secondary priorities in the eyes of those entrusted to protect all Australians equally.
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