You know, every time I hear that some idiot has gotten hold of a gun and committed unspeakable crimes I brace myself for the almost inevitable revelation that he or she was “mentally ill.”
Then, in that moment, in addition to the horror of violence, the destruction of lives, and the grieving of loved ones and communities, stigma is resurrected. All the work we all do to reduce stigma, to educate others, to prove to society that the mentally ill are not dangerous and should not be feared or discriminated against becomes moot. These unspeakable acts offer proof to society that the mentally ill ARE dangerous. That we should be feared. And we, as advocates of mental health, need to work that little bit harder once more.
The same can be said for Muslim communities. Except, unlike mental illness which is largely invisible, Muslim individuals cannot hide their faith. And, quite frankly, they shouldn’t have to.
Yesterday, Australia watched on in disbelief as a political extremist held seventeen innocent people hostage, at gunpoint, for over sixteen hours in the Lindt Cafe in Sydney’s CBD. The siege ended in tragedy when heavily armed police were forced to enter the building, the once bustling cafe lighting up in the night with gunfire and the air pierced with screams. Tragically, two people, a 38 year old mother of three and the the 34 year old manager of the cafe, lost their lives. Four more were injured, including a police officer. The community, and the nation in general, was rocked.
As soon as I heard the news, turned on the TV and saw that an Islamic flag was being held up in the window of the cafe, I literally flinched. Shit. I thought. Not again. This is a really bad time to be an Australian Muslim.

Image from http://www.couriermail.com.au/
As with mental illness, we always hear about the few people who do something absolutely horrific, not the thousands of other people who just get on with their lives peacefully. I found this great diagram from Anonymous Arabist which illustrates the extent of Muslim terrorism in relation to the religion. I’d like to reiterate the authors disclaimer that she had to enlarge the population of Al Qaeda by ten for it to even show up on the diagram.
Regardless, from the moment I saw that Islamic flag, I knew there would be a backlash against the Muslim communities in Australia. And then something surprising happened.
A young woman on her way home from work saw a Muslim lady, clearly distressed, about to pull her hijab off. She ran after the Muslim lady and told her not to take it off, that she would walk with her if she was scared. Then, first within Sydney, then from around the country came the outpouring of Facebook posts and tweets from people offering support to Muslims, literally offering to ride public transport with them if they were concerned for their safety, and showing solidarity. The hashtag #illridewtihyou was born.
Of course, this kind of social media campaign won’t fix the problem. But it is a step in the right direction. I’m so relieved that in the wake of such a tragedy, there is outstanding recognition that the violence was the result of a single extremist individual, not an entire faith.
To the loved ones of Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson, who tragically lost their lives, my thoughts and prayers are with you. To the hostages who have gone through a hell I can’t even begin to imagine, I pray for your physical and mental recovery. To the police force, thank you for dealing with such a difficult situation in such a remarkable manner. And to the Muslim communities #illridewithyou
Reblogged this on GOSSIP DIGEST.
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Great, moving post! Sending thoughts and prayers from the U.S. to Australia.
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It’s so heart-warming to see we are so many (even though not enough yet) to understand this concept.
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Reblogged this on Makeup and Perfume and commented:
Excellent post. Congrats on being freshly pressed!
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Reblogged this on laru004's Blog.
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Thank you for posting this. I’m a moslem n wear hijab too. This post gives me a hope for the better peaceful world in the future where we can walk together in harmony..♥♥♥
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Reblogged this on aalhendi.
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Reblogged this on Perspectivas da vida.
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Nice article 🙂
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Reblogged this on freethembirds.
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It’s a very well written post, no doubts about it.
I do have a couple of things I would like to bring up though…
1. #illridewithyou is a great grass roots initiative, but where were those same Aussies when Indian students were terrorised in Melbourne? Where were those same Aussies when an elderly Jewish couple got attacked in Sydney? Where were those same Aussies when Russian and Serbian plots at Sydney’s Rookwood Cemetery got vandalised? Or are we only selectively tolerant and protective?
2.With 1.6 Billion Muslins in a world, why is it that every time something like this tragedy happens, all we can hear is a couple of isolated voices of condemnation coming from the Muslim community? I read somewhere that there are potentially around 200,000 Muslims in a world supportive of terrorists. The real number is probably smaller, but even if it is the right number, and 200,000 are out there celebrating a couple more infidels being killed, their voices should be completely drowned by the 1.4 Billion collective strong voice of regular Muslims, who value human life regardless of race or religion. So where is this collective voice, this hurricane of condemnation, this torrent of sympathy with the victims?
Or have I gone deaf?
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I absolutely stand by what you have written. Being a Kiwi and New Zealand being so close to Australia, it is now a realization that terrorism of any form can happen anytime and anywhere. #illridewithyou is only the beginning. I think the world can do great things together when we unite as one.
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If I’m ever in Australia i’ll ride with you. I have seen hate and discrimination in action and do not say that lightly but I do mean it.
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Reblogged this on scorpioat20's Blog.
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It is wonderful to see this groundswell of sensible public opinion and I also wish to comment that I seen many positive interactions between Muslims and whites in Australia and never a negative one ( although they do exist), and that indicates to me most people are respectful and get along. These isolated incidents are extremely tragic and extremely rare. The media is in the public’s face constantly, replaying clips over and over thereby making the sub- conscious feel fear.
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Reblogged this on ocinpakhi.
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Reblogged this on Together we can make our world a better place ❤.
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Reblogged this on Thoughts, Raves, and Outright Beatings.
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Australia dealt with the problem very well! Including it’s people!
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Reblogged this on beyzasirkeci.
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Thank you very much for your post. I have also written 4 posts about the events of last week and I was concerned about the discriminatory remarks about mental health being made by all sorts in the media. Who hasn’t had a mental health issue at some point? Maybe we don’t have a diagnosis but most people with mental health issues are not a threat. xx Rowena
http://www.beyondtheflow.com
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Great post on the events that occurred. Respect for all no matter what.
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Reblogged this on iamdarhmy and commented:
#illridewithyou
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One day going to visit what so called Australia 🙂
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Reblogged this on mrrobin86's Blog.
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Reblogged this on INFODYNAMICS.
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Reblogged this on shakeralessa and commented:
سبحان الله… من حيث لا تحتسبون.
قال الله تعالى: {وَمَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّهُ مَخْرَجًا وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَالِغُ أَمْرِهِ قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدْرًا}
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Reblogged this on A Light Beyond the Hedge.
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Thank you for this beautiful article. I am very moved by it.
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Thank you
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Beautiful post with social awareness… True that..about mental illness..no criminals are born..only crime is born which should be eliminated through awareness
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I am glad you enjoyed it! Thank you 🙂
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Im an American. And Im the Wife of a Muslim Man. I am not yet muslim i have yet to chose if i will or will not be …
But My Husband and friends and loved ones who are or have Muslim friends family etc shouldnt be worried about safety or ignorance.
I am surprised at the amount of friends I have lost, and family who no longer wish to be in my life because i married a Muslim man.
Things like this ..
It makes me sad.
Its like we didnt learn anything in the last 100 years…
But To see there are smart and kind people in the world especially in light of destruction like this …
Its a Blessing.
Thank You
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Reblogged this on mjafferson.
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Wow… This is amazing #illridewithyou
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Reblogged this on StraightTalk.
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open the door to let the sunshine in
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Reblogged this on ilovestotravel and commented:
I hadn’t heard of #i’llridewithyou. Well worth reading this blog about the recent siege in Australia
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Reblogged this on The Life & Times of Ice.
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Reblogged this on xxchristerxx.
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I think this was such a nice thing to do. This proves that one little act of kindness can have huge impacts. I don’t know about everyone else, but this story really makes me think about life and how much more I (and others) could achieve if we stood up and played our part. I’m going to try a lot harder to help others. I’m not talking about a thing like this, but smaller tasks tht change individual peoples lives. If it easy to do, then why don’t we do more? It makes you wonder doesn’t it? 😦
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I love lindt
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Nice
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Reblogged this on Jennifer's Blog.
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Reblogged this on ZakWriter and commented:
You judge car by putting an expert Driver behind the wheels, not by putting a person who do not know to drive. Please don’t judge Islam on the basis of these ‘mentally ill’ people. #IllRideWithYou
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Reblogged this on jemmawhite95.
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Reblogged this on Wirdatul Aini and commented:
Discrimination of Muslim, I’ll ride with you
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Reblogged this on mohinmo.
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suhlasim
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