Because I Will Stand Up

This tape has been doing the rounds in the local media.

It was staged - set up by filmmaker Kamal Saleh.

Saleh told the Herald Sun the video was made on behalf of the Macquarie University Muslim Student’s Association in light of next week’s Islamic Awareness Week, titled “iSlamPhobia”.

“As a Muslim student organisation, we were concerned with the recent influx of islamaphobic attacks we’ve witnessed in Australia over the past few weeks.So to determine how entrenched this issue was in the public, we staged a social experiment to see how people would respond to a public display of bigotry and hatred to a Muslim women and boy,” he said in an email.

“We were extremely overwhelmed by the response of passers-by, especially in their eagerness to help a stranger being vilified on the basis of their religion. It has indeed restored our faith in humanity".

It does serve to neutralise some of the media hype that has surrounded this issue in the last few weeks, and shows that Australians are far too level headed to be used by the gutter press.

The bloke in the suit and tie at 4.28 in says it well - "Because I will stand up".