A senior Muslim leader has written to federal political leaders urging them not to use Muslims in political manoeuvring as the federal election approaches, but to consult Muslims and build trade.

The president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, Ikebal Patel, wrote this week to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and Greens leader Bob Brown, saying it was well recognised that previous elections ''have been run on the back of Muslims and Islam-phobic scare-mongering''.

Also asking the leaders to instruct their candidates not to make Muslims an election issue, Mr Patel said Muslims had contributed to Australian culture and values.

''Also, their presence adds some $7 billion in annual trade, and we urge you to consult with us and to engage with us where we can turn that into a lot more,'' he said.

Meanwhile, radical Islamic group Hizb ut Tahrir yesterday began distributing to mosques and Muslim prayer rooms a leaflet saying the Australian government's white paper on counter-terrorism was part of brutal, vicious and inhumane campaign against Muslims.

The group says the white paper - released on February 23, and arguing that Australia faces an increased threat from home-grown terrorists - is deeply concerning, given its ''severity and the audacity with which the government is now victimising Muslims''.

The group, banned in some countries, is small in Australia but is gaining influence by assiduously cultivating Muslim students in universities and even secondary schools. It is striving for a ''caliphate'' - Islamic rule under sharia law from the Middle East to Indonesia, including North Africa and Spain.

Accusing Western governments of being the true terrorists and waging a war on Islam, Hizb ut Tahrir says counter-terrorism policies such as the white paper are designed the justify interference in the the Muslim world, shift blame for the consequences on to the Muslims, intimidate Muslims and undermine Islam.

Mr Patel said Hizb ut Tahrir was simply using the white paper to market itself, but it was disappointing that the government had not consulted AFIC over the white paper because that allowed extremist groups to gain mileage.


Barney Zwartz
8th March 2010

Source: The Age