In the aftermath of the 2001 election, it became clear that the government had distorted facts around the "children overboard" affair. The government knew that children were not intentionally thrown overboard, and that yet, the government permitted the record to stand uncorrected on the issue. Why would the government do this? Because the story fed fears in the community about these strange Iraqi and Afghani Muslim boat people; and the government knew if it wanted to win the election, it could do so by demonising Muslims and migrants, then promise to protect the "Australian way of life" from these invading foreigners. One minister even went so far as to suggest that some of the boat people were terrorists. Through this strategy, known as "wedge" politics, Howard subjected every Australian Muslim to increased levels of suspicion and distrust.

In the three years since, we have seen a plethora of new anti-terrorism laws being introduced; we have seen the government commit this country to the War on Iraq; we have witnessed its unmitigated support for the US; and we have felt deep shame when Australia was one of the few nations that voted against a UN resolution calling for the West Bank apartheid wall to be torn down. We can’t help but feel that Muslims have little influence on the politics of this country.

When the 2004 election was called, a group of respected Muslim leaders and activists got together to develop strategies to raise awareness of these issues within the Muslim community, to mobilise the community to respond to three years of harsh Howard policies and to establish a Muslim political presence. The Australian Muslim Electoral Taskforce (AustMET) was formed. It is not a new organisation, but a coalition of Muslim organisations and individuals working together to inform Muslims of their rights and responsibilities with respect to voting.

In discussions, it was agreed that there needed to be long-term strategies to educate members of the Muslim community about these political issues. But first, AustMET looked into the question of whether or not it was permissible in Islam to vote. Keeping an open mind, members of the group examined the issue from all perspectives, and after extensive research produced a report that outlines opinions amongst scholars on the topic of Islam and voting. The vast majority of scholars on this issue were found to be in support of voting, especially where the Muslim community is at some risk. Some of the opinions that scholars stated were:

For this particular election, AustMET produced a Muslim Voters’ Guide that explained Australia’s political system in English and Arabic and encouraged Muslims to vote. Each of the major parties’ policies relevant to Muslims were analysed and a simple score card was produced. Another document AustMET produced was the How to Vote Card, which looked at some key marginal seats in which Muslims lived and strategically advised which candidates to vote for in those seats. These documents were distributed at various mosques across Sydney, and are all available on the AustMET website at www.austmet.org.

The AustMET campaign, however, was not all smooth sailing. It was met with opposition from some sections of the community that regard voting and participating in Australia’s political system as haraam. Some counter-material was actually produced and distributed to that effect. It is disappointing that several organisations feel that the best use of their limited resources – resources that could be used for other purposes -- is to undermine the work of another Muslim group trying to do its best to serve the Muslim community. One must also ask the question, is the "danger" of Muslims voting more worthy of our efforts and resources than, say, Muslims and drugs, the loss of our youth’s Islamic identity, the misinformation about Islam that must be combated, or the poverty throughout the Muslim world?

However, the most disappointing aspect of the campaign was the general apathy of the Muslim community. In the face of overwhelming evidence of increased discrimination and vilification against Muslims in Australia and abroad, we did not care enough to show our government that we are equal citizens in this country and that our views and perspectives must also be respected.

The Howard government has now been re-elected, again, with an increased majority in both houses of parliament. This means the continuation of inaction on the discrimination Muslims face every day, the continuation of Australia’s unwavering support for the United States and Israel in their imperialism in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine, and it also means more so-called anti-terrorism measures. Barely 2 weeks after the election, it has already been reported that the anti-terrorism laws will be toughened by the new Howard government, and that flawed laws that were previously blocked could now be pushed through a Coalition-dominated Senate. As with existing legislation, there is no doubt that Muslims will bear the brunt of these laws, their civil rights and liberties being eaten away slowly but surely. Who knows what new measures the government will introduce, and what their impact on the Muslim community will be? Without an effective Muslim voice, on what grounds can we argue against these measures?