Thousands of Muslims gathered at Sydney mosques to pray on Friday despite concerns about reprisal attacks after police charged a 16-year-old with a terrorism offense over the stabbing of a Sydney bishop earlier this month. this week.
Police on Thursday charged the minor with a crime of terrorism for the alleged stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel in a church on Monday. Footage of the attack shows the teenager stabbing the religious man repeatedly before being restrained by the congregation and shouting at Emmanuel for insulting Islam.
Police said they will allege he stabbed the bishop, who is in stable condition in hospital, up to six times. The crime carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The minor has been denied bail.
Shortly after Monday's attack, a mob of thousands of people went to the church, where they clashed with police and demanded that the minor be brought to justice. Hours later, the Lakemba mosque, one of the largest in Australia, received firebomb threats.
This Friday, in front of that same mosque, community leader Gamel Kheir said that Muslim women were worried about being singled out and that those who worked for the mosque supervisor had been asked to work from home for now.
"Our real fear is that women who are identifiable by their headscarves walking in the streets or shopping malls will be attacked. Right now they are afraid to do that," said Kheir, secretary of the Lebanese Muslim Association. which oversees three mosques, including the one in Lakemba.
The attack on Emmanuel, which came just days after a mass stabbing in Bondi, and the prospect of retaliation have put normally peaceful Sydney on edge. Gun and knife crime is rare in the city, one of the safest in the world.
On his way to pray at the mosque on Friday, Abdul Masri, 32, told Reuters he was worried about the possibility of more incidents. "I'm not afraid, but I still worry, you know?" he said.
Bishop Emmanuel on Thursday pleaded for peace and said he had forgiven his attacker in an audio message recorded at the hospital.
Kheir thanked the priest for his message of forgiveness and calm. "At the end of the day, we all share the same message, we all share the same land, we all share the same community."
