By Ethan Rix, ABC
Australian police are investigating what they described as "offensive graffiti" that appeared on each side of a railway underpass on Hector Street, in the western Sydney suburb of Sefton. Photo: ABC News - Thorsten Joses
The premier of New South Wales has condemned Islamophobic graffiti seen in western Sydney.
Australian police are investigating what they have described as "offensive graffiti" - found under a bridge in the suburb of Sefton, after they received reports on Sunday morning.
Images published by The Guardian show the words "F**K ISLAM", tagged on each side of a railway underpass on Hector Street.
In another image, the words "CANCEL ISLAM" can be seen partially covered with white paint on an advertising sign.
In a statement provided to the ABC, Premier Chris Minns said that "vandalism like this, that is aimed at particular religions is designed to incite hatred and is completely abhorrent".
"This racism and Islamophobia is disgusting and corrosive to the very fabric of the successful multicultural state that we have built here in New South Wales," Minns said.
"Division and conflict from around the world cannot be allowed to be imported onto the streets of Sydney.
"I would encourage anyone with information related to these incidents to report them to Crime Stoppers and those responsible will face the full force of the law."
The graffiti had since been removed.
NSW premier Chris Minns said the incident was designed to incite hatred. Photo: ABC News
'Gutless attack'
According to the most recent Australian census data, the suburb of Sefton is a majority Muslim area with more than 32 percent of residents declaring their religious affiliation as Islam.
Local MP for Blaxland Jason Clare described the graffiti as a "gutless attack" and said all racism needed to be condemned.
"People in my community are hurting because of the conflict in the Middle East," Clare said.
The graffiti has been cleaned up since it was first reported on Sunday morning. Photo: ABC News - Thorsten Joses
"This is a gutless attack on our local community. There is no place in Australia for Islamophobia."
Earlier in the week, Liberal NSW senator and former ambassador to Israel, Dave Sharma, told Sky News that "any time any senior minister mentioned anti-Semitism in the last 12 months they also mentioned a fictitious Islamophobia which was not going on".
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip said the "hateful" incident would be distressing for the community.
"A bigoted attack on any group of Australians is an attack on all of us," he said.
"We extend our support to the Islamic community and have been in touch with ANIC [Australian National Imams Council] to express our condemnation of this incident directly."
Officers from the Bankstown Police Area Command have attended the scene and begun investigating the incident.
- ABC
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