By — Colleen Shalby Colleen Shalby Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/australians-use-illridewithyou-stand-solidarity-muslims Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Australians use #IllRideWithYou to stand in solidarity with Muslims World Dec 15, 2014 2:37 PM EDT Shortly after Man Haron Monisa — a Muslim man — was identified as the suspect who held more than a dozen people hostage in a Sydney cafe Monday, the hashtag #illridewithyou started trending in Australia, and soon elsewhere, in an act of solidarity with Muslims against Islamophobia and possible reactionary violence. The conversation began when Rachel Jacobs noticed a woman take off her hijab on a train in Australia, soon after news of the suspect broke. https://twitter.com/MichaelJames_TV/status/544339713394368512 1/2 #illridewithyou overwhelmed. Mine was a small gesture because of sadness that someone would ever feel unwelcome because of beliefs — Rachael Jacobs (@rachaeljacobs) December 15, 2014 2/2 I’m not the story. Anyone joining #illridewithyou is incredibly inspiring, creating a path to peace for all of us. Thank you @sirtessa — Rachael Jacobs (@rachaeljacobs) December 15, 2014 Jacobs’ story, originally posted on Facebook, gained attention once shared on Twitter. Another user posted encouragement to use a hashtag in support of Muslim culture. If you reg take the #373 bus b/w Coogee/MartinPl, wear religious attire, & don’t feel safe alone: I’ll ride with you. @ me for schedule. — Sir Tessa (@sirtessa) December 15, 2014 Maybe start a hashtag? What’s in #illridewithyou? — Sir Tessa (@sirtessa) December 15, 2014 Since its onset, the hashtag — arguably the most powerful of the year — has gone global, traveling beyond Australia to North and South America, Asia and Europe. We may have different religions, languages or coloured skin but we are all one human race #illridewithyou pic.twitter.com/MNFrUaigDL — Zohaib Nawaz Tarar (@ZohaibTarar) December 15, 2014 I was going to drive to work tomorrow but seeing the outpouring of support changed my mind. #illridewithyou Thank you. See you on the train! — Ozge Sevindik (@OzgeSevindik) December 15, 2014 https://twitter.com/anggerwitasari/status/544454734812176384 According to Twitter Australia, the hashtag had been tweeted out more than 90,000 times as of seven hours ago. UPDATE: There has now been more than 90,000 mentions of #illridewithyou tonight http://t.co/Yg80kag6qz #amazing pic.twitter.com/SEliFNmOfF — Twitter Australia (@TwitterAU) December 15, 2014 At the time of posting, that number has since jumped to more than 247,000 tweets, according to Topsy. A free press is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Support trusted journalism and civil dialogue. Donate now By — Colleen Shalby Colleen Shalby @CShalby
Shortly after Man Haron Monisa — a Muslim man — was identified as the suspect who held more than a dozen people hostage in a Sydney cafe Monday, the hashtag #illridewithyou started trending in Australia, and soon elsewhere, in an act of solidarity with Muslims against Islamophobia and possible reactionary violence. The conversation began when Rachel Jacobs noticed a woman take off her hijab on a train in Australia, soon after news of the suspect broke. https://twitter.com/MichaelJames_TV/status/544339713394368512 1/2 #illridewithyou overwhelmed. Mine was a small gesture because of sadness that someone would ever feel unwelcome because of beliefs — Rachael Jacobs (@rachaeljacobs) December 15, 2014 2/2 I’m not the story. Anyone joining #illridewithyou is incredibly inspiring, creating a path to peace for all of us. Thank you @sirtessa — Rachael Jacobs (@rachaeljacobs) December 15, 2014 Jacobs’ story, originally posted on Facebook, gained attention once shared on Twitter. Another user posted encouragement to use a hashtag in support of Muslim culture. If you reg take the #373 bus b/w Coogee/MartinPl, wear religious attire, & don’t feel safe alone: I’ll ride with you. @ me for schedule. — Sir Tessa (@sirtessa) December 15, 2014 Maybe start a hashtag? What’s in #illridewithyou? — Sir Tessa (@sirtessa) December 15, 2014 Since its onset, the hashtag — arguably the most powerful of the year — has gone global, traveling beyond Australia to North and South America, Asia and Europe. We may have different religions, languages or coloured skin but we are all one human race #illridewithyou pic.twitter.com/MNFrUaigDL — Zohaib Nawaz Tarar (@ZohaibTarar) December 15, 2014 I was going to drive to work tomorrow but seeing the outpouring of support changed my mind. #illridewithyou Thank you. See you on the train! — Ozge Sevindik (@OzgeSevindik) December 15, 2014 https://twitter.com/anggerwitasari/status/544454734812176384 According to Twitter Australia, the hashtag had been tweeted out more than 90,000 times as of seven hours ago. UPDATE: There has now been more than 90,000 mentions of #illridewithyou tonight http://t.co/Yg80kag6qz #amazing pic.twitter.com/SEliFNmOfF — Twitter Australia (@TwitterAU) December 15, 2014 At the time of posting, that number has since jumped to more than 247,000 tweets, according to Topsy. A free press is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Support trusted journalism and civil dialogue. Donate now