Australian political leaders are slowly condemning an Islamophobic attack on two women, but the prime minister isn't among them amid accusations of double standards.
The Muslim women wearing hijabs were assaulted in separate incidents at an Epping shopping centre, in Melbourne's north, on Thursday.
An unidentified woman allegedly assaulted a 30-year-old Lalor woman inside the shopping complex about 1.10pm before she pushed a 26-year-old Wollert woman to the floor in a separate incident about 10 minutes later, police said.
The victims, one of who is pregnant, were taken to hospital with bruises, scratches and potentially long-term physical injuries, the Australian National Imams Council said.
Investigators are probing whether the assaults were "prejudice motivated" after the offender ran off with a man.
Despite the prompt response from police and paramedics, the victims said they felt ignored and feared for their safety, the Imams Council said.
Australian Muslims' physical security was being threatened almost daily and the response from authorities and political leaders was "grossly insufficient", Australian Federation of Islamic Councils president Rateb Jneid said.
"When compared to the swift and significant attention given to less-severe incidents affecting other communities, the disparity in response is not only apparent but also unacceptable," he said.
Australia's Special Envoy to combat Islamophobia Aftab Malik said the "disgusting" attacks on the women brought the hidden cancer of Islamophobia to the surface.
Reports of Islamophobia have risen by 600 per cent since the Israel-Gaza war erupted on October 7, 2023, he said.
"I urge the prime minister and other leaders to condemn these attacks and to throw the respective resources into ensuring Muslims feel safe," Mr Malik said.
"The majority of victims are women in public spaces, which speaks to a worrying trend that people are feeling empowered to assault women in full view of the public."
The Islamic Council of Victoria on Monday expressed disappointment Premier Jacinta Allan and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had not called out the incidents.
Ms Allan condemned the "horrific" alleged attacks later on Tuesday after prodding from the media.
"This sort of evil hatred, in this instance Islamophobia, has absolutely no place in our community," she told reporters in Melbourne.
In a subsequent post on X, Ms Allan said Victoria was a multicultural place and there would never be any excuse for violence, racism, or Islamophobia.
Multicultural Affairs Minister Ingrid Stitt had earier condemned the attack.
Federal assistant minister for multicultural affairs Julian Hill, who represents the seat of Bruce in Melbourne's outer southeast, made a statement for the Albanese government.
He said the "appalling" attacks were another unacceptable example of rising Islamophobic incidents and attitudes, citing the dramatic increase in reports.
Mr Hill has spoken to the Islamic Council and the Victorian government and declared the perpetrators should face the full force of the law.
"Muslim Australians have every right to feel safe and included while going about their business in the community," he said in a statement.
"I wish this was an isolated incident, but the truth is it is not."
Mr Albanese's office pointed to Mr Hill's statement when asked if he wished to comment on the matter following his prompt responses to a spate of anti-Semitic incidents.
The Melbourne incidents come after Muslim leader Imam Wesam Charkawi was allegedly targeted by someone who deliberately tried to run him over in Western Sydney in December, and a Muslim woman and her daughter were verbally attacked inside a Sydney retail store.
