New Zealand Muslims were brought to tears by a social media display of solidarity in Sydney during the Lindt cafe siege.
Sydneysiders, fearing anti-Islam acts against Muslims in religious dress, took to social media to offer support.
What started with one woman offering support with the Twitter hashtag #illridewithyou quicklybecame a citywide and then global trend, generating about 120,000 tweets.
Tessa Kum, a Sydney television content editor, told Guardian Australia she started the hashtag after reading about another Twitter user's kind act.
Rachel Jacobs had tweeted that a Muslim woman on the train with her had removed her hijab, presumably out of fear.
Jacobs tweeted: "I ran after her at the train station. I said 'put it back on, I'll walk with u'. She started to cry and hugged me for about a minute - then walked off alone."
Tweeting under the name Sir Tessa, Ms Kum offered assistance to anyone riding her bus home: "If you ... wear religious attire, & don't feel safe alone: I'll ride with you."
In New Zealand, Federation of Islamic Associations president Dr Anwar Ghani said New Zealand Muslims were praying for the innocent siege victims in Sydney.
