EXCLUSIVE: ‘Schools, social media key to tackling rising Islamophobia in Australia’

By Mushfiq Ahmed

SYDNEY, Australia (MNTV) — Tackling Islamophobia in Australia may increasingly depend on what happens in two places where young Australians spend much of their time: the classroom and the digital world.

As anti-Muslim hostility has escalated since October 2023, Muslim community leaders are calling for greater emphasis on education and stronger accountability for social-media platforms, arguing that prejudice must be confronted before it develops into discrimination, harassment or violence.

Yousseff, program manager for Action Against Islamophobia at the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC), says education is one of Australia’s most important tools for preventing Islamophobia. “Islamophobia cannot simply be addressed after an incident has occurred,” he says. “Prevention must begin much earlier.”

Yousseff says Australian schools have a crucial role in helping young people understand racism, religious diversity and the experiences of Muslim Australians.

He argues that students should be exposed to respectful dialogue, responsible online behavior and a better understanding of different faith communities.

The goal is not simply to respond when a Muslim student is bullied or discriminated against, but to address the stereotypes and misconceptions that create prejudice in the first place.

The Australian government’s new 12-month Islamophobia Education Taskforce is seen as an opportunity to develop that preventive approach. Action Against Islamophobia is also working toward educational material on Islamophobia within the high school curriculum, initially focusing on students aged 16 and 17, with a longer-term goal of expanding age-appropriate content to other year groups.

The focus on young people is particularly significant because repeated exposure to negative stereotypes can affect how Muslim students see themselves and their place in Australian society.

Yousseff says young Muslims can grow up identifying as Australian while repeatedly hearing that people like them are dangerous, unwanted or somehow less Australian. Such experiences can affect belonging and confidence.

For community leaders, education therefore represents a long-term response rather than simply another government program.

If young Australians learn to recognize stereotypes, understand religious diversity and engage respectfully with difference, the attitudes that underpin Islamophobia can be challenged before they become entrenched.

The digital classroom

At the same time, much of the battle over attitudes toward Muslims is taking place outside school — on social-media platforms.

Yousseff says online spaces have dramatically increased both the speed and scale at which anti-Muslim hatred can spread.

Hateful narratives can reach enormous audiences within hours, while repeated exposure can help normalize hostility toward Muslims. More seriously, online hatred can spill over into real-world intimidation and violence.

Research cited by ANIC adds to those concerns. The Tackling Hate Lab analyzed more than 1 million online posts between January 2023 and January 2026 using big-data AI modeling, computational analytics and social-science methods to examine the rise of anti-Muslim hate in Australia.

For Muslim Australians, the concern is not simply that offensive comments exist online. It is the scale, speed and normalization of such content. “When hatred is repeatedly amplified, normalised and left unchallenged in digital spaces, it can shape attitudes and behaviour in the real world,” Yousseff says.

Yousseff says social-media companies need to take greater responsibility for how their platforms handle anti-Muslim abuse.

He calls for stronger cooperation among social-media platforms, Australia’s eSafety authorities, law enforcement and community organizations to identify and respond to serious online hate, particularly threats, incitement and targeted harassment.

He also says platforms should examine how algorithms can amplify inflammatory and divisive material and ensure that reporting mechanisms result in timely and meaningful action.

The challenge is complicated by the fact that not all online abuse is reported. Many Muslim Australians already choose not to report incidents of discrimination or harassment because they do not know where to report them, believe nothing will happen or have become accustomed to such treatment.

That creates a cycle in which the scale of the problem can remain hidden while harmful content continues circulating.

From online rhetoric to real-world harm

The relationship between digital rhetoric and offline behavior is among the community’s most serious concerns.

Yousseff says Islamophobia now exists on a spectrum, ranging from stereotyping and offensive commentary to threats against mosques, physical assaults and harassment of visibly Muslim women.

The normalization of anti-Muslim language in public discourse can make people more comfortable expressing or acting on that hostility in everyday life.

The Australian Human Rights Commission warned in March 2026 about threats against Muslims, death threats directed at mosques, discriminatory commentary and an alleged planned terrorist attack against mosques, according to Yousseff.

That is why community advocates say the response cannot be divided into separate online and offline strategies.

Schools can help young Australians develop the knowledge and critical thinking needed to recognize prejudice, while digital platforms must prevent hate from being amplified unchecked.

A generational challenge

For Yousseff, the ultimate objective is to prevent Islamophobia from becoming normalized for another generation.

Education can address prejudice at its roots, while stronger action online can limit the reach of hateful narratives.

The two approaches reinforce each other: what students learn in classrooms can influence how they behave online, while what young people encounter online can shape attitudes they bring into schools, workplaces and communities.

Australia’s multicultural identity, Yousseff argues, depends on confronting the problem rather than denying it.