Ed Husic pleas fall on deaf ears among divided Muslim community

The Muslim political campaign threatening to topple the ALP has declared it has no problem if its pro-Palestine push helped elect Peter Dutton, saying it would ‘demonstrate the impact’ of its movement.

The Muslim Vote convener Wesam Charkawi speaking outside Lakemba Mosque, southwest Sydney. Picture: Jonathan Ng

The Muslim political campaign threatening to topple senior Labor ministers has declared it has no problem if its pro-Palestine push helped elect Peter Dutton, saying such a result would “demonstrate the impact” of its movement.

But other Muslim leaders have urged voters to avoid “cutting their nose to spite their face”, saying inadvertently electing the Liberals would be a far worse prospect for the community’s hopes for Palestine.

The ALP will likely incorporate The Muslim Vote’s stance as part of its campaign arsenal in southwest Sydney, where supportive elements from the community fear a protest vote could usher in a Liberal government far friendlier to Israel and more opposed to Palestinian statehood.

Industry Minister Ed Husic, the country’s most senior Muslim politician, urged his community to not vote in “anger” against Labor, spruiking the government’s “advocacy” for Palestinian sovereignty and its record at the United Nations.

“I think people can see the volume of work that we have done as a government, particularly in the last 12 months … We are trying to make sure that Australia’s voice is heard in the international arena on this issue,” Mr Husic said on Monday.

But The Muslim Vote convener Wesam Charkawi rejected Mr Husic’s plea, urging Muslim voters who had been “neglected … for far too long” to take a stand against Labor at the ballot box.

Industry Minister Ed Husic. Picture: Martin Ollman

“(The Labor government) consistently held that Israel has a right to defend itself while Palestinians were being butchered,” Sheik Charkawi said: “(The government) refused to sanction Israel, refused to expel the Israeli ambassador, refused to call for an arms embargo, and refused on multiple occasions to call for an unconditional ceasefire.”

The organisation has spearheaded independent campaigns in southwest Sydney, where local doctor Ziad Basyouny is running against Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke in Watson and Cumberland councillor Ahmed Ouf against Education Minister Jason Clare in Blaxland.

The Muslim community is split on whether a “voice at the table” was preferable to a more overtly “pro-Palestine” independent member, and whether a vote in anger against Labor would inadvertently propel the Liberals into government – a prospect the majority of Muslim voters would be against, despite anger with the ALP.

But Sheik Charkawi said the two major parties were cut from the same cloth and the campaign wouldn’t change its approach in the event of any looming Liberal victory.

“It is possible to have an unintended consequence through some Liberal candidates winning. However, while this is not an objective or aim, Muslims aren’t afraid of a Liberal government,” he said.

The sheik would not comment on where the group or the independent candidates would preference Labor at next year’s election, leaving the door open to it placing the ALP below the Liberals – or even last – to help remove Mr Burke and Mr Clare, a real possibility.

“We’ve lived through John Howard, Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison, and have seen Labor target Muslims through the introduction of more counter-terror legislation than any other country, as well as the recent Trump-style draconian immigration laws,” Sheik Charkawi said.

“In this unlikely event (the campaign dumping Labor and inadvertently helping to elect the Liberal Party), it would demonstrate the impact of the Muslim Vote one way or another.”

But that possibility concerns some of the community’s leaders.

Although frustrated with elements of Labor’s approach, several Muslim leaders have privately criticised a prospect where a protest vote helps elect a Liberal Party much more friendly to the Netanyahu government in Israel and opposed to Palestinian statehood.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. Picture: Martin Ollman

Leaders of many Islamic bodies have refrained from weighing in, although some are privately sceptical of The Muslim Vote movement and concerned with what political effect it could have.

However, leaders are split, with high-profile sheiks associated with the Australian National Imams Council quietly supporting The Muslim Vote. ANIC vice-president Ahmed Abdo, addressed the campaign’s recent national launch.

Prominent Lebanese-Muslim community leader Jamal Rifi, an outspoken critic of The Muslim Vote, is spearheading his own “Friends of Burke” movement to campaign for the Immigration Minister and Mr Clare.

Dr Rifi said there was an “unholy alliance” of different actors who sought to make his community “more politically militant”, fuelled by anger and misinformation.

He said a protest vote would be “a vote for the Liberals”, whose approach to Israel-Palestine would be far less palatable to the Muslim community.

“(Our community’s) best interests in terms of the Middle East is a vote for Labor,” Dr Rifi said.

“A vote and voice in the cabinet is more important. We’ve seen (pro-Palestine) gestures in parliament to harvest the Muslim community’s vote.”

Dr Rifi is hosting a BBQ this week for community members to meet Mr Clare, and warned people not to “cut their nose to spite their face”.

“Politically naive people (anti-ALP activists) are selling an idea that a minority government is best for our community … they have no idea,” he said.

Former NSW premier Bob Carr and Jamal Rifi at the launch of the Friends of Burke campaign in southwest Sydney in September. Picture: Alexi Demetriadi

Dr Rifi said other leaders backed his approach but were hesitant to speak out given “bullying” of those who supported the government, adding he hoped “common sense prevailed”.

Mr Husic on Monday said it was “very important” to “fast-track sovereignty for Palestinians”.

“We’ve talked about Palestinian sovereignty, we’ve supported it and said that we do believe a two‑state solution will be important to peace in the region, and also should give a sense of security to people, Palestinian and Israeli, that they’ve got their own country, and their ability to determine their future,” he said.

“There are a lot of us that are keen to see the establishment of a Palestinian state as quickly as can happen, and so I think that reflects that enthusiasm. I wouldn’t be too literal in terms of what I’ve said.”

The Muslim Vote and Muslim Votes Matter, a separate organisation, have been enthused by results at the British and US elections, but Labor insiders have pointed to the goodwill accumulated by Mr Burke and Mr Clare, and the arrhythmic nature of Australia’s preferential voting system, different to the UK’s method that helped elect four “Gaza independents”.

Many also believe that optimism can be taken from September’s NSW council elections, where the ALP emerged from a conflict-heavy campaign in Canterbury-Bankstown – which takes in parts of Watson and Blaxland – to retain its majority, losing only one councillor to the Liberals.