There is documented rise in discrimination against Australian Muslims since Sep 11. While these riots specifically involved the Lebanese community, many people who look "Middle Eastern" (eg Sikhs and Hindus) have also been targets since Sep/11.

Mundine weighs into race debate

Australia's leaders are cowards who will not confront the disease of racism, boxer Anthony Mundine says. Mundine, who is a Muslim and Aboriginal, said today that Prime Minister John Howard was wrong if he did not accept there was underlying racism in Australia. Following two days of violence around Sydney, Mr Howard said yesterday he believed the riots and vandalism were more of a law and order issue. Mundine said: "I believe we have problems within society and racism is one of them problems, it's a bad disease. "I believe we've got leaders that are cowards. "They are in denial and will not confront the issues and confront the problems that we have with society and to make comments like the leader (Mr Howard) has said, it's really got me dumbfounded."

Mundine told the Nine Network it was up to "great leaders" in the community to stay positive and do positive things. The cultural and religious divides between different communities in Australia were not too vast to overcome. "I think people shouldn't be condemned because of their colour or creed, they should be judged on their deeds and their positive ways to their fellow man, their actions," Mundine said.

"We can live together, we can work together but it's a matter of letting your actions speak louder than your words." Mundine blamed racism for the hostile reaction of a crowd after he left the boxing ring in Perth on Sunday. Mundine was booed and had bottles thrown at him after fellow boxer Danny Green worked up a home crowd. But Mundine said the reaction was caused by a few "bad apples" in the crowd and common Australian people were "great people".

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Police investigate church attacks

Sydney police say they are not ruling out a link between attacks on two churches in suburban Auburn overnight. Investigators believe arsonists may be responsible for a fire that has destroyed a multi-faith hall on the grounds of the Uniting Church on Harrow Road just before 2am AEDT. Just minutes later, the nearby Anglican Church had about 10 of its windows smashed. Bishop Ivan Lee says it is not the first time his church has been attacked "I think a year or so ago and the police were called in but they didn't so a very good job - they couldn't get the fire going," he said.

"Someone broke inside and tried to set the place alight - that was worse than what's happened this morning I suppose." On Monday night, shots were fired at cars outside Auburn's St Joseph's Primary School, which was hosting a Christmas carol event.

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Community meetings

A number of community meetings were held in Sydney overnight in an effort to try to stop the violence. There were at least three separate gatherings involving Muslim and Christian groups, police and members of the southern beaches surfing community. Islamic Friendship Association spokesman Keysar Trad says community groups have mobilised to help resolve the problem. "Everybody's trying to get together, especially the calmer, more mature heads within the different groups to see what can be done to end this cycle of violence," he said.

"What we've seen over the preceding few days is something that none of us wants to see repeated and we opted to think about how to resolve it together." But there is concern the Cronulla violence could be replicated at other beaches. In the Hunter region, police say text messages are currently circulating, encouraging people to rally at Newcastle's Nobby's Beach and at Terrigal Beach on Sunday. Northern region police commander Peter Parsons says police are developing strategies to deal with any unrest. "We've got to be concerned of course because of what's happening in Sydney," he said.

"We certainly don't want a repeat of what's happening there. But at the same time we need to keep things in perspective and we will deal with this in a considered and determined - if required, way."