Many Australian Muslims blame Howard for fostering an image of the community as an enemy

SYDNEY, October 4 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The unfaltering support for the US-led invasion of Iraq and a series of racially-motivated measures adopted after the 9/11 attacks on the US are likely to cost Australian Prime Minister John Howard's government Muslim votes in this weekend's elections.

"Following September 11 and the invasion there has been an increase in the anti-Muslim sentiment, which obviously made our position extremely difficult," Ali Roude, chairman of the Islamic Council of New South Wales, lamented.

"There have been many cases of vilification, hate mail, burning of places of worship following these events," he told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Few issues raise as much ire as Howard's strong support of the US-led war in Iraq, especially as many within Australia's Muslim community came as refugees from Iraq in the early 1990s.

Australian Muslim groups joined forces to call for the return of Australian troops from Iraq with the security situation in the Arab country slipping out of control.

Australians were the first to take to the streets on Saturday, March 20, to mark the first anniversary of the US-led invasion-turned occupation of Iraq.

Roude also complained that anti-terrorism laws and other moves to prevent possible attacks inside Australia have been made against Muslims.

"From these issues one can conclude in which direction the Muslim vote will go," he said, adding that added Australian Muslims are especially concerned about their own position in society.

With several hundred thousand Muslims in a population of 20 million the political implications are potentially significant in what is expected to be a close race.

Muslims’ Voice

Most of the community also heap blame on Howard's coalition for fostering an image of the community as the enemy within through its hard-line policies.

"The perception has been created by the Liberal government of seeing Islam as an enemy," said Hassan Ghulam, a Muslim of Afghan origin who is running as an independent for the upper house Senate in Queensland state.

Campaigning on the slogan "Justice for all", 55-year-old Ghulam has made the treatment of asylum seekers the main plank of his campaign and one he plans to pursue in parliament if elected.

After 9/11, the processing procedure for asylum seekers more or less stopped, he said, accusing the government of violating human rights of people who have already suffered a lot.

"They have been mistreated by Saddam Hussein and by the Taliban. These people instead of receiving a humane treatment, they have been put in detention centers."

The government's treatment of asylum seekers, mostly from Muslim countries, had drew fire from international organizations.

Ghulam will be running against the woman who indirectly sparked his own interest in politics, right-wing firebrand Pauline Hanson.

The activist said he originally wanted to set up a political party precisely to counter Hanson's anti-immigration views.

Hanson's own anti-immigration rhetoric has been somewhat tempered since her brief jailing last year on electoral fraud charges, which were overturned on appeal. However, her former supporters are still a potent force in some parts of Australia.

A Muslim lawyer had launched legal action to try to shut down a website linked to Hanson, saying it breaches anti-discrimination laws by vilifying Muslims.

On Wednesday, July 30, an Australian court upheld an appeal by Australian Muslims against a Sydney council's decision to bar construction of an Islamic center under the pretext it was not compatible with the area.