A Maltese Muslim is determined not to let the online hate and prejudice deter her activism after she was honoured by Forbes magazine.

Sara Ezabe Malliue was inundated with online criticism and hate after she was named among Forbes’ European 'under 30s' for her work against hate speech and inequality.

Ms Ezabe Malliue is a law student, born to a Maltese mother and a Libyan father.

Confronted by the comments addressed to her, the 21-year-old initially downplayed the insults and claims, dismissing them as “completely banal.” But some of content also concerned her, saying they often stemmed from hate or fear.

During an interview with The Sunday Times of Malta, Ms Ezabe Malliue said she read one disturbing comment on another online news portal which suggested that she should be “burned slowly.” The comment was later deleted by moderators.

“The fear of Muslims is worrying,” she said, pointing out that there are Maltese people who do wear a headscarf or hijab.

She laughed at the template response of many people who tell her to leave Malta to go to other countries.

"People will try to send me anywhere as long as it's not Malta," she said.