Muslim websites ‘rate MPs’ to flex political muscle in Australia

Websites ranking MPs on their support for Palestine and whether they backed South Africa’s genocide case against Israel have sprung up to ‘lay the Muslim community’s political future’.

The websites target electorates with high Muslim populations, including Minister Tony Burke’s southwest Sydney seat of Watson. Picture: NCA Newswire

Websites and companies ranking MPs on support for Palestine and whether they backed South Africa’s genocide case against Israel have sprung up to “lay the Muslim community’s political future”.

The Australian can reveal at least two newly registered websites – The Muslim Vote and ­Muslim Votes Matter – are circulating among political and community circles, which rank MPs in “focus electorates” where the Muslim population is about 10 per cent or more.

Muslim Votes Matters was registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in February by two Melbourne-based directors, while The Muslim Vote is not registered with ASIC.

Both have “focus electorates” and comparable metrics for the MPs targeted, although it is unclear if the two pairs of creators are working together.

The Muslim Vote promised that it has “substantial funding to drive” its campaigns and has about 2000 volunteers ready to doorknock at the next election.

Its site makes an electoral rallying cry to its community.

“The next federal election signals a shift – Muslim issues at the forefront,” the website reads.

“We will no longer accept being taken for granted. We are a powerful, united force of nearly 1 million acting in unison. We are focused on seats where the Muslim vote can influence the outcome. We are here for the long term.”

Some of the “focus electorates” on The Muslim Vote website.

The website is promoting a survey on the pro-Palestine performance of Watson MP and Employment Minister Tony Burke, who, it said, had showed “weak support for Palestine” and hadn’t backed South Africa’s “pro-genocide” case in the International Court of Justice.

The site also takes aim at Macarthur MP Mike Freelander, who is Jewish, saying the Labor member “rejects the premise of genocide” and is “weak on Palestine”.

Macarthur MP Mike Freelander. Picture: Richard Dobson

“For the first time, the Muslim community has united and is acting as one at the ballot box,” the website reads. “And we’ve come well-prepared.” It also shows the breakdown of electors, the Muslim population and the margin.

On The Muslim Vote, 30 electorates and MPs are targeted, while Muslim Votes Matter includes 32.

Muslim Votes Matters’ “scorecard” for the pro-Palestine performance of Education Minister Jason Clare says “while (he) has expressed positions in the media”, it was evaluating him on his parliamentary statements, giving him a red “has not” mark on eight pro-Palestine statements out of nine.

The emergence of the websites come amid growing discontent among Australia’s Muslim communities and leaders with state and federal Labor responses to the Israel-Hamas war, and growing realisation of their potential electoral sway.

In February, the NSW and Victorian governments cancelled their annual iftar dinners after peak Muslim groups announced boycotts.

Although the federal government’s language has markedly hardened in the wake of the Israel Defences Forces killing Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom, and six other World Central Kitchen employees, peak Islamic bodies have criticised what they see as rhetoric too soft on the Netanyahu government and domestic Islamophobia.

In NSW, Premier Chris Minns told backbenchers if they wanted to wade into foreign policy debates, and by default the Israel-Hamas conflict, they should run for federal parliament.