#illridewithyou, #Pegida trend in Germany

After concerns that people wearing the hijab could be harassed on the streets of Sydney, locals took to Twitter to offer to travel with them on public transport using hashtag #illridewithyou. The hashtag has become a means of expressing solidarity with Muslims who might experience abuse following the hostage taking by an alleged Islamist.

The hashtag, which was initially started by Twitter user @SirTessa quickly gained popularity, spreading beyond Sydney to become a global trend.

In less than 12 hours, the hashtag had been tweeted more than 160,000 times, according to Topsy.

In Germany, the hashtag comes ahead of right-wing protests by the anti-Islamization movement PEGIDA. And many Germans have taken to Twitter using #illridewithyou to show their solidarity with the Muslim community in the country. The hashtag was trending earlier in the day, along with #Pegida which has been among the most discussed topics on social media in recent weeks.