People are right to be shocked by the events at Bondi Beach last Sunday evening.
They are right to be appalled at the vicious attack by a clearly radicalised father and son on a group of innocent people.
And people are right to feel for the victims and those impacted and stand by the Jewish community at a time when it should be celebrating peace and harmony.
This horrific act that has claimed 15 innocent lives to date and impacted so many more needs to be called out.
But what we’ve got to be careful not to do is fan that shock and grief into a wider hatred.
It has been reported that the father Sajid Akram, who was granted a student visa under the Howard Government in 1998, and his son Naveed, who was born in Australia, were inspired by the extreme ISIS ideology.
Political opportunists are already launching into Trumpian tirades, deriding migrants and calling for the ICE-like deportation of those connected to the Islamic faith.
The person more likely to be caught up in a narrow-minded sweep would be Ahmed Al Ahmed, a Muslim and more recent migrant.
Remember him? He’s the tobacco shop owner who took a few bullets to the body when tackling and disarming one of the gunmen.
He is being celebrated as a hero, quite rightly, along with the many other bystanders and first responders who rendered help amid the devastation and carnage.
I’ve used this analogy before. To blame all Muslims for the horrific act of a couple of extremists is as ridiculous as blaming those riding postie bikes for the atrocities of outlaw motorcycle gangs.
Antisemitism needs to be stamped out, but replacing it with islamophobia is not the answer.
Sure, abhor the act and stand with the victims. Abhor the perpetrators and the ideology that drove them there.
But to allow yourself to be sucked into dehumanising the vast majority of a race or religion does not help the situation.
By contrast, it contributes to fanning the hatred.
