Tensions are running high in Western Sydney, with fears in the Muslim community that law enforcement’s labelling of the stabbing of a bishop a terrorist attack will inflame Islamophobia.

Whatsapp chat groups lit up with a meme on Tuesday suggesting people with darker skin were more likely to be judged “terrorists” while those with lighter skin were “mentally ill”. It is a reference to the Bondi Junction attacker, who killed six people on Saturday, being labelled a mentally ill lone wolf, versus the stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel being labelled as a religiously-motivated terrorist attack.