Bangladeshi student Muheeb Bin Shafi was at home when his friend called wanting to check out a massive crowd forming on the beach in Cronulla.

It was December 2005, and Mr Shafi thought it could be some kind of festival.

"I was an international student. I'd never been to Cronulla, but it sounded pretty good. I was like, alright I'm doing nothing, so better than just sitting at home," Mr Shafi told ABC's I Was Actually There.

Warning: This story contains details some readers may find confronting.

Driving towards Cronulla Beach, on Dharawal Country, in a gold car with flames on the side, the pair became targets of the large crowd.

"We saw one person running towards us with an Australian flag and he yelled out, 'Are you Aussie?' And then there's more people,"

Mr Shafi said.

"My friend,

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