"...and the (presumably) Muslim woman sitting next to me on the train silently removes her hijab," Ms Jacobs wrote. Workers gather at Martin Place during the siege at the nearby Lindt cafe. Credit:AFP "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." The inspiring status quickly circulated on social media before inspiring the #illridewithyou hashtag. Sydney TV content editor Tessa Kum said she "broke" when she read Ms Jacob's story and decided to post the following message on Monday afternoon:

"If you [regularly] take the #373 bus b/w Coogee/MartinPl, wear religious attire & don't feel safe alone: I'll ride with you," she wrote. The message posted on Rachael Jacobs' Facebook page. She then posted a second status, featuring the #illridewithyou hashtag. Within hours it had gone viral on social media, as Twitter users from around the country offered to ride public transport with Muslims who feel intimidated by anti-Islamic sentiment.

"It is hard to feel hope when you feel helpless. #illridewithyou is a small act, but might be important for someone one day," Ms Kum told Fairfax Media. "My thoughts are with those involved, who will be affected for so long to come, and those uninvolved, who are being blamed none the less." Ms Jacobs wrote on her personal Facebook page that she was "completely overwhelmed" by the response. "Mine was a very brief encounter - a small gesture to a stranger in response to the sadness that I felt that someone would ever feel unsafe or unwelcome because of their beliefs," she wrote.

"I'm not the story and I'm not a hero. Those who started the‪#‎illridewithyou‬ movement are incredibly inspiring and anyone who joins it is creating a path to peace for all of us." The campaign was widely praised on social media. "Today goes to show, Australians will always come together and support one another," one Twitter user wrote. Several politicians, media personalities and sports stars also showed their support for the campaign.

The campaign seems to echo Prime Minister Tony Abbott's statement during his Monday press conference. "Australia is a peaceful, open and generous society. Nothing should ever change that," he said. The chart below maps the growth of the #illridewithyou hashtag in real time.