Lisa Monks (@ChipMonkMedia) tweeted: I choose love & kindness over fear & hate #illridewithyou
The hashtag
#illridewithyou" is trending worldwide after a moving gesture by a woman in Australia as a hostage crisis unfolded in Sydney on Monday. (
Sydney Siege: Follow Our Live Coverage)
As reports suggested that Muslims in Australia were worried about a backlash on public transport after an armed man took people hostage inside a cafe and forced them to hold an Islamic flag against the window, many in the country used the hashtag to reassure them.
It was started by a woman with the user name
@sirtessa, whose friend saw a Muslim woman on a train in Sydney quietly take off her hijab or head covering and told her, "No, if you want to wear it, then wear it. I'll walk with you."
On hearing the story, the woman's friend took to Twitter and wrote: She also suggested, "Maybe start a hashtag? What's in
#illridewithyou?"There have been hundreds of tweets since morning with Australians offering to accompany their Muslim friends or neighbours to work tomorrow. What began as an offer of help is turning into a show of support beyond the country.
Arif posted:
Ben Pobjie tweeted: Daniel Sankey tweeted: Australia's race discrimination commissioner Tim Soutphommasane said he was heartened by the campaign, adding: "Let's not allow fear, hatred and division to triumph."
More than 40 Muslim groups have condemned the siege, saying in a statement that they reject "any attempt to take the innocent life of any human being or to instil fear and terror into their hearts".