Muslim community leaders across southern Queensland say they’re alarmed by a rise in Islamophobia in recent weeks, including bomb threats and abuse directed at children.

A mosque on the Gold Coast was allegedly targeted in a bomb hoax at the weekend, while last week a bomb threat forced the evacuation of 1,700 students from the Islamic College of Brisbane.

It’s part of a growing national trend.

The Islamophobia Register of Australia — an organisation set up to monitor incidents — recorded 366 cases of online abuse between January 2023 and November 2024, according to its latest report.

From September 2014 to December 2021, there were 415 cases.

There were 309 in-person incidents recorded between January 2023 and November 2024, while 515 in-person incidents were recorded between September 2014 and December 2021.

The register’s co-executive director Nora Amath said reports in south-east Queensland had risen in recent weeks.

“Incidents range from verbal abuse in public spaces, harassment, threats, and hate mail, and attacks on Islamic institutions such as mosques and schools,” she said.

“Women, particularly those who are visibly Muslim because of wearing hijab, remain disproportionately targeted.”

Threats and fake devices

Islamic College of Brisbane CEO Ali Kadri said the school was evacuated on Friday after receiving a threatening email.

“The email had profanities directed towards Muslims, Islamophobic language used … and photos of a bomb placed at our school with the date,” he said.

“Police established the email that had been used to send the email was known to be hacked.”

But Mr Kadri said what happened as students evacuated the school was even more confronting — as several people passing by yelled “Islamophobic abuse and showed fingers” to the students leaving.

“It was quite distressing, and it has a long-time impact on the young people,” Mr Kadri said.

“It makes it difficult for them to better integrate into this society because they’ve been constantly reminded that they don’t belong because of who they are.”

A Queensland Police Service (QPS) spokesperson told the ABC there was “no information” to suggest the incident at the school was religiously or racially motivated.

But a letter from a local police constable to parents, shared by the school, noted: “In the current cultural and political climate, we are seeing more friction between individuals expressing their poorly informed views publicly.”

A man has been charged over the Gold Coast incident but investigations into the school incident in Brisbane are ongoing.

Almost 100 people charged with vilification offences in over a year

Islamophobia is one of several types of vilification that could lead to hate crimes in Queensland. Other types include anti-Semitism, racism, and the targeting of LGBTQI+ individuals. 

According to QPS data, 96 people were charged with vilification offences in Queensland between May 2024 to August 2025.

It’s unclear from the statistics what ethnicity, religion, sexuality or gender identity the offences targeted. 

Of those 96 people, six were charged in Queensland for serious racial, religious, sexuality or gender identity vilification.

Four were charged of threatening violence, 24 with displaying, distributing or publishing a prohibited symbol; 14 with common assault; nine with assault occasioning bodily harm; nine with wilful damage; and 31 with committing a public nuisance, among other charges. 

Officials ‘horrified’ by incidents

Asked about the recent incidents on the Gold Coast and Brisbane, Premier David Crisafulli said the alleged behaviour was “not on” and needed to be “called out”.

“We are having things start to creep into Queensland that I’m not comfortable with and that’s at the top of my order,” he said.

He added people should be able to go to a place of worship “free from bullying, free from harassment” and “shouldn’t be looking over their shoulder”.

Queensland’s Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall said he was “horrified” by the recent incidents.

“All Queenslanders have a right to live without vilification due to their religion or race and this is protected … serious vilification is a criminal act under the Criminal Code,” he said.

“All Queensland children are entitled to feel safe and secure in their homes and public places such as schools and places of worship.

“Queensland holds strength in its diversity and strength in its inclusivity. These strengths must be upheld through calling out the vile actions of a few.”

Islamophobia spikes during global conflict

Dr Ryan Williams — a religious studies expert from the University of Queensland — said Islamophobia often spiked during global conflicts.

“9/11 happened … then we have ISIS and other kind of international moments where tensions between Muslims and the West became highly intensified,” he said.

“Right now, we obviously have the Palestine-Israel conflict.”

He said Muslims were often “scapegoated” for broader anxieties.

“There’s obviously those [recent] anti-immigration marches, those are certainly symptomatic of a dormant sentiment that we get historically across lots of Western countries where Muslims become a channel through which anxieties around the economy, anxieties around culture and identity, play out in ways that focus themselves on Muslims,” he said.

But Dr Williams, who has extensively researched the Islamic community in south-east Queensland, said the community had developed resilience.

He said it had led to more community engagement, charitable endeavours, and lobbying of government, adding that communities should not have to face discrimination in order to show their strength and values.

“It really empowered them and energised them and various Imams have done quite a lot … and that’s really I think the most recent legacy of Islamophobia, they’ve become empowered to tell their own story.”

Calls for anti-racism education

While the community has become stronger in recent years, Ms Amath from the Islamophobia Register believes there are several initiatives that could be implemented to help reduce abuse rates.

“We need political, media, and community leaders to condemn Islamophobia consistently and unequivocally,” she said.

She said anti-racism education in schools, community awareness programs, and interfaith and intercultural dialogue was also important.

“[There needs to be] support for victims … ensuring Muslims who experience Islamophobia know they can safely report incidents and receive support,” she said.

“Finally, the broader public can play a role by calling out Islamophobia when they see it and standing in solidarity with Muslim communities.”