Muslim Votes does not care about, nor represent, Muslims
I am no party-political animal, just a proud Australian, a migrant, a medical doctor in southwestern Sydney, a champion of the respectful and culturally rich Australian society, and glad to be a Muslim here. All those things make me whole, like so many others. The last Sunday in March coincided with Eid, the celebration at the end of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. The 30 days prior is a time of fasting (sawm), prayer (salah), reflection, and community.
So, I have been thinking: It would be a tragedy for Australia, for our tolerant and multicultural future, if the Muslim Votes political party “succeeds” in the forthcoming election.
Muslim Votes is a mix of the aggressive left, of opportunists, cynics, and the naive, with some undercover Liberal support in certain electorates, and idealists unaware of the strange amalgam which is this grouping.
If you worry about some of the Greens party morphing from lovely environmental activists to nutty far-leftism, this is the bigger danger. I worry about consequences, how damaging an avowedly sectarian grouping like this could be.
What does “success” look like? MV has no prospect of winning House of Representatives seats, but its preferences might matter. It is staggering that people concerned about social justice seek the defeat of hardworking, community-engaged local Labor MPs of the calibre of Tony Burke and Jason Clare, for example.
Initially, I saw that the pain and anger about conflicts in the Middle East, relayed and amplified on social media, clouded many people’s political judgment. But now it is clear Muslim Votes is deliberately manipulating the Palestinian cause. Political newbies do not appreciate what is really going on.
If only energy and idealism was put to good and ennobling effect. In my opinion, that is achievable through the major political parties. Get active, get involved, support the country and improve what we have, is my credo. Working for the betterment of our nation is always unfinished business. We have an obligation – our civic duty – to respect, honour, and protect all Australian citizens.
Overall, most Muslim Votes candidates cannot say what they have done in their local communities to deserve support. It is not enough to just be negative or dogmatic about the Middle East and other issues. This narrow claim for support – their disconnect from bread-and-butter issues – dooms them to protest-vote status.
They, ironically, pander to the primitive view that all Muslims are the same. Not since the Protestant Independent Labor Party in Newcastle, briefly in the 1920s, has an avowedly religious exclusive party emerged in Australian politics.
I know they are helping the Liberal Party. There is an unholy alliance that would shock their supporters. Do not be surprised how many local Liberals in “targeted electorates” support Muslim Votes, notwithstanding “official” Liberal policy on preferences. MV will not run a candidate in Werriwa, even after it publicly posted its intention to do so. Why? Because it has a deal with the local Werriwa Liberal not to do so.
Several MV candidates co-signed a statement written by Hizb Tahrir, the extremist Islamist organisation that praised and celebrated the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel and advocates the establishment of the Khilafah.
Also disturbing was Senator Fatima Payman’s accolades for the Iranian regime and its protection of women!
This highlights not just their ignorance and dangerous stupidity, it shows how much they do not represent Australian Muslim communities.
They are playing dirty. There are instances of corflutes placed in houses without asking the owners, and Tony Burke corflutes replaced
without permission.
Muslim Votes Matter backs Greens candidate in Wills
Yes, our community wants to give the best of us in the parliament, such as Jihad Dib, the NSW minister and MP for Bankstown.
I do not expect any Muslim Votes candidates to get elected. Its overall strategy is more pernicious. It hopes the Liberals win more seats than the government, and “teach Labor a lesson”.
In the electorate of Watson, I see local Liberal councillors escorting Dr Ziad Basyouny, the MV candidate, to houses and organisations. I cannot believe the damage they and their allies might inflict on the communities they claim to represent; their actions are uncivil, intimidating, and threatening. In my interactions with Australian Palestinians and recently arrived Gazans, it was made clear to me that they do not want anyone to use their suffering for their own political and ideological agendas.
On social media platforms, Muslim Votes is belligerently harassing and bullying anyone who has a view that differs from its own. The behaviour of mob mentality is vile and unacceptable in any civilised society.
Recently, I saw an article in The Wall Street Journal about American Muslim-Arabs feeling sorry for how they voted in the 2024 presidential election. Trump’s Palestinian-free Gaza was mentioned. The town of Dearborn, Michigan, for example, with the largest Muslim population per capita in the US, voted 43 per cent for Trump and 37 per cent for Harris; the rest voting for minor candidates. This pattern delivered the state to Trump.
If Peter Dutton wins because of Muslim Votes knocking off Labor MPs, you can imagine the subsequent conversations at local hookah bars, as disappointment piles on disappointment. The best way to avoid buyer regret is to avoid making the wrong purchase in the first place. That’s what I’ve got against Muslim Votes.
Jamal Rifi is a Lebanese-born Australian general practitioner and prominent figure in the Lebanese Muslim community in Sydney.
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