The hashtag #illridewithyou is trending worldwide today as Australians have reached out to support the Muslim community as the Sydney siege hostage crisis has continued throughout the day and night.
The hashtag took on a life of its own after it is believed that Twitter user Sir Tessa kicked off the campaign. It has since been trending throughout Sydney and other major Australian cities as commuters and other users of public transport have been offering their support to people who wear religious clothing but may be too nervous to go out in public.
Australian Rachel Jacobs wrote on Facebook “and the (presumably) Muslim woman sitting next to me on the train silently removes her hijab,” as the news broke.
“I ran after her at the train station. I said, ‘put it back on, I’ll walk with u (sic). She started to cry and hugged me for about a minute – then walked off alone.”
According to the Press Association, lawyer Mariam Veiszadeh was in a conference when news of the siege broke and that she broke down in tears when she heard that there was a possibility of an Islamic link.
“I said, I’m sorry, and I know it’s obvious, but I need to say these lunatics don’t represent my faith,” she stated, before adding that the Twitter movement was ‘heartwarming’.
