Australians came out in solidarity with the Muslim community on Monday following a siege at a Sydney cafe, as tens of thousands tweeted the hashtag #illridewithyou to counter concern about an anti-Islam backlash.

The hostage-taking at the Lindt chocolate cafe triggered a security lockdown in the heart of Australia’s biggest city, with the government and Muslim leaders condemning the attack and calling for unity.

Amid uncertainty about the hostage-taker’s motives and fears of reprisals after an Islamic flag was raised in the cafe, an Australian woman reportedly started the #illridewithyou hashtag to show solidarity with Muslims who might feel threatened on public transport.

Within hours, Australians around the country repeated the hashtag, with more than 40,000 tweets making #illridewithyou one of the top trends on the social media site.

Australia’s race discrimination commissioner Tim Soutphommasane said he was heartened by the campaign, adding: “let’s not allow fear, hatred and division to triumph.”

More than 40 Muslim groups jointly condemned the siege, saying that they rejected “any attempt to take the innocent life of any human being or to instil fear and terror into their hearts”.

“Any such despicable act only serves to play into the agendas of those who seek to destroy the goodwill of the people of Australia and to further damage and ridicule the religion of Islam and Australian Muslims throughout this country,” the statement said.
   »»» The National (Abu Dhabi)

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