Islamic ticket sends all the wrong messages

On others, particularly regarding counter-terrorism, the middle ground of Australian public opinion may be diverging from that of Australian Muslims.

However, all of these issues can be discussed without particular emphasis on Muslim interests. It does not benefit Australian Muslims for their legitimate concerns to become labelled as sectarian-based bandwagons, thus confining them to the political margins.

By talking of running Muslim candidates, as though being Muslim defines a particular political agenda that is somehow different to that of non-Muslims, Hilali and his spokesman Kayser Trad are not furthering the interests of Australian Muslims. Rather, they are consigning them to the wilderness.

Hilali is a divisive figure among Muslims, let alone in the general community. For any candidate seeking to run for one of the main parties, an endorsement from him would be the kiss of political death. Independent candidates, too, need to draw the majority of their support from non-Muslims, even in southwestern Sydney seats where there is a large Muslim population.

Given the intensely negative reaction to Hilali's recent utterances, no candidate strongly associated with him could hope to win. They could perhaps reap some favours through preference deals, but again the main political contenders would be most reluctant to be seen doing political deals with Hilali after the past few months.

It is right and proper that Muslims should be among those Australians who stand for political office. But they cannot afford to be seen as exclusivist, as placing their religious identity above all else.

That does not mean that they must lay aside that identity altogether. Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott are guided by their Christian identity, but it has led them in radically different political directions. There is at least as great a diversity of political opinion among Muslims, despite a shared interest in certain issues.

Those issues need to be debated among Australians of all political and religious affiliations, not corralled into a campaign for candidates of one religious identity.