The Albanese government has handed down its response to its special envoy’s report on Islamophobia in Australia, ten months after it was tabled. Despite some positive steps forward, the response doesn’t go nearly far enough to address the scope of the problem.

Special envoy Aftab Malik’s report had 54 recommendations for how to tackle Islamophobia. The government has agreed to adopt slightly more than half (35) of them.

Islamophobia takes many forms in Australia. Recent scholarship defines it as anti-Muslim prejudice and racism that affects people’s rights and freedoms across several key domains. These include physical violence, interpersonal prejudice, structural discrimination and social exclusion.

This definition emphasises the link between institutional forms of Islamophobia and the anti-Muslim attitudes held by individuals. It also interprets Islamophobia as a distinct form of racism, which has become more prevalent in recent years as Islamic religion, traditions and culture have become seen as a “threat” to Western values.

Statistics illustrate the growing problem. The Islamophobia Register noted a dramatic increase in reported incidents of Islamophobia from January 2023 through November 2024. There were more than 300 confirmed “in-person” incidents reported to the register, more than double the average of any previous reporting period.........

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