More than 40 attacks on Muslims in Sydney since Bali bombings

More than 40 attacks on Muslims in Sydney since Bali bombings

Associated Press Sydney, Australia

Islamic clerics have been spat on, mosques vandalized and Muslim girls have had their head scarves ripped off since bombings on the Indonesian island of Bali killed nearly 200 people, many of them Australians.

There have been more than 40 anti-Islamic attacks in Sydney alone since the Oct. 12 blasts, New South Wales state Police Commissioner Ken Moroney said Monday.

"It's offensive, and it illustrates an element of ignorance and arrogance on their (the attackers') part," he added.

Dozens of Australians died when a massive explosion ripped through a nightclub popular with foreign tourists in the beach- side Bali resort of Kuta.

The main suspect in the attack is Southeast Asian Islamic extremist group Jamaah Islamiyah, which is believed to have links with the al-Qaida terrorist network.

Moroney said even more attacks likely were going unreported, particularly on Muslim women who feared retribution if they told authorities.

"These Muslim women need to come forward without fear of repercussions and talk to police so we can get a clear picture of what is going on," Moroney said.

He did not give more details on the various anti-Islamic attacks but last Tuesday, vandals smashed several windows and walls of the King Abdul Aziz Islamic School in western Sydney. The adjoining mosque and Muslim leader's residence also were damaged.

Also last week, a mosque in the southern city of Melbourne was firebombed.

Police have made no arrests in any of the attacks. Muslims in Australia also faced abuse and attacks in the days immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington. Mosques were torched, veiled Muslim girls abused and a bus full of children going to an Islamic school was stoned.