The reception was a stark difference to what the 24-year-old encountered on his first weekend of trading.

‘’F--- off dog’’ was painted on the front window of his Central Road barber shop. Other signage was also sprayed to obliterate the name of the business, Cutting Edge Barbers.

On Monday the first-time business owner told the Mercury he felt the graffiti was unnerving and likely racially motivated.

Though the message does not specifically mention his Islamic faith, Mr El Mohamad believed the vandal noticed his friends and family helping with the refurbishment and formed a negative opinion.

‘’It shook me up at the time but the response today is excellent,’’ he said.

‘’I didn’t realise there was going to be so much support. It’s beautiful the community is coming out to support their local barber.

‘’Hopefully we stop this graffiti and ongoing nonsense. I just want to move on and do what I love doing – cut hair.’’

Omar Nemer, of Samara’s restaurant – the target of anti-Islamic online abuse last year, organised the #illsupportyou gathering to support a ‘’young man who has gone out on a limb to open his own business’’.

‘’This campaign is similar to the #illeatwithyou campaign in that it is about rejecting boycotts because of one’s religion,’’ Mr Nemer said.

‘’A Muslim person deserves to be treated fairly as a human. You can’t paint two billion people with one brush and call them extremists and call them all radicals.

‘’We are not saying it [graffiti] is racially motivated but there is no need for it.

‘’We all live in a beautiful multicultural community. We should all stand united together and support the younger generation who are trying to have a go and make something of their life.’’

Wollongong councillor Bede Crasnich agreed, adding he found it ‘’very disappointing’’ when a small minority of people took it upon themselves to make people feel unwelcome or unsafe in this region.

‘’Whatever the reasons are, at the end of the day there was vandalism and it was motivated for a reason and that is something that we can not condone ever,’’ Mr Crasnich said.

‘’It is a fantastic rally and it just goes to show that the vast majority of people in this region do not tolerate behaviour of that nature.’’