Pig heads hurled into Muslim cemetery in Sydney after Bondi Beach attack

Pigs’ heads were thrown into a Muslim cemetery in a suburb of Sydney on Monday following the deadly attack at Bondi Beach, in what appeared to be an act of Islamophobic revenge.

Ahmad Hraichie, a Muslim undertaker, said on Instagram that the animal heads were thrown on graves at the Narellan Cemetery in the western suburb of Camden.

"To whoever did this: you have proven nothing except hatred. You are not a solution to any problem - you are part of the problem," Hraichie said in the post.

"These people in those graves were dead long before what happened yesterday. They have nothing to do with current events. Graves are places of rest, dignity, and respect - across all faiths and all humanity. If you want peace, this is not the way. If you want justice, this is not the way," he added.

Australian police confirmed the incident and said that they had removed the pigs' heads and launched an investigation.

"Officers attended and found several pig heads at the scene. Police immediately commenced an investigation into the incident," the statement read. "The pig heads have since been removed and disposed of appropriately."

The incident comes after a 50-year-old man, identified as Sajid Akram, and his 24-year-old son, Naveed Akram, opened fire on a Jewish gathering at Bondi Beach, killing 15 people, including a 10-year-old girl and an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor.

The perpetrators have been linked to the Islamic State extremist group.

One of the gunmen was tackled and stopped by Ahmed Al-Ahmed, a 43-year-old Syrian Muslim originally from Idlib province. Al-Ahmed sustained gunshot wounds in the attack and has been hailed as a hero by Australian government officials.

However, Islamophobia has increased since the Bondi Beach attack, with misinformation being spread online about Al-Ahmed's identity.

Some social media users have falsely claimed that Al-Ahmed was neither Syrian nor Muslim, with even Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referring to him as "Jewish", while others misidentified him as a Maronite Christian from Lebanon or a member of Syria's Alawite Muslim minority. In fact, he belongs to Syria’s Sunni majority.

Al-Ahmed was even identified as "Edward Crabtree" - a white Australian - by the social media platform X's Grok AI chatbot. Since Elon Musk acquired Twitter and later renamed it X in 2022, the platform has been accused of spreading right-wing anti-immigrant misinformation.

The Australian Muslim community has condemned the Bondi Beach attack, with the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils saying that it "expresses deep sorrow and heartfelt support for all those affected by the tragic shooting incident at Bondi Beach".

Muslim leaders in Sydney have also said that they will refuse to perform funeral rites for the attackers, one of whom was killed by police, while the other remains in critical condition in hospital.