Thousands in Melbourne call for halt to Islamophobia, racism

Thousands of people have taken to the streets in Australia’s second-largest city of Melbourne to protest against rising sentiments of Islamophobia and racism in the wake of the recent massacre of Muslim people in New Zealand.

Protesters gathered at Victoria's State Library on Saturday to express solidarity with the Muslim community following the Friday terrorist attacks at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch.

Rally organizer Jasmine Ali told Daily Mail Australia, “The Islamophobia and racist rhetoric of Australia's Coalition government has contributed to an atmosphere where vile attacks like the Christchurch shooting become possible.”

Secretary of Islamic Council of Victoria Mohammad Helmy, who was among the participants in the rally, said the "hate rhetoric being shared in the public domain" led to the attacks. “This kind of hate rhetoric, it kills.”

SS