A political advocacy group seeking to mobilise Muslim Australians before the next election says it will elevate the community’s voice on non-faith issues including gambling and domestic violence, alongside Israel’s war in Gaza.
On Sunday afternoon Muslim Votes Matter, a new grassroots group, launched its national campaign in the lead-up to next year’s federal election at the Broadmeadows town hall, in the federal seat of Calwell, where it plans to back candidates.
The group is planning to campaign in 32 federal seats – the majority Labor-held – with a significant Muslim population.
While it will not run candidates or provide financial resources, Muslim Votes Matter will back candidates whose values align with its priorities and will produce how-to-vote cards to distribute at polling booths. It says these will be based on an eight-point criteria it will assess candidates against, which will include their position on the war in Gaza.
Ghaith Krayem, a member of Muslim Votes Matter’s national team, told the crowd of about 300 people it was “unashamedly a group of Muslims” and would seek to engage its community on non-faith issues.
“Within our faith, we have valuable insights to share … There’s a debate going right now about gambling,” he said. “Where is our voice? Why aren’t we out there engaging in that discussion about gambling?
“We have important issues to talk about. Gambling, alcohol, drug addiction, domestic violence. We are Muslims and we’re going to talk about those issues which are important to all of the society.”
Krayem, a former president of the Islamic Council of Victoria and chief executive of the Australian Federation of Islamic Council, said people who attended the group’s sessions across Australia had consistently said, “Just tell us who to vote for.”
Among the 32 seats Muslim Votes Matter are aiming to target are Wills – where the Greens are hoping to seize the Labor-held seat, Calwell – held by the retiring Labor MP Maria Vamvakinou and Watson – held by the home affairs minister, Tony Burke.
The group’s target seats also include Fowler – held by the independent Dai Le – and Liberal-held Banks and Mitchell.
Samantha Ratnam, the Greens candidate for Wills and the party’s former Victorian leader, was among those in attendance on Sunday.
Nail Aykan, the founder of Muslim Voices of Calwell, told the launch the shift away from the two major parties in Australia meant there “had never been a better time for Muslim Australians to flex their political muscle and be counted”.
“The influence of Muslim voters in key safe seats, predominantly Labor seats, is becoming more apparent and will become hotly contested,” he said.
He argued there were numerous merits of a hung-parliament, saying electing independents and minor parties would send a message to the incumbent government to “not get complacent” and “not take Muslim Australians for granted.”
Dr Naser Alziyadat, Victoria’s state lead for Muslim Votes Matter, told the audience that the UK election, where the Labour party lost four seats to independent candidates, despite its thumping majority, showed the Australian group’s aims were achievable.
Muslim Votes Matter, and a separate grassroots group the Muslim Vote – which plans to back independent candidates at the election – have been at the centre of fierce political debate since the Western Australian senator Fatima Payman’s dramatic exit from the Labor party.
Anthony Albanese said Australia should not go down “the road of faith-based political parties”, arguing it would undermine social cohesion. The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has warned against “a minority government with the Greens, the green teals and Muslim independents”.
Krayem told the audience the group was not focused on isolating Muslim Australians.
“We are not causing division. We’re bringing a community into the public debate, into the political arena.”
In an interview before the launch event, Krayem told Guardian Australia the group – which he estimated has 1,000 members, including non-Muslim – would home in on eight to 12 seats for targeted campaigning closer to the election.
While declining to outline the group’s eight-point criteria for backing candidates, he said this included a position on the war in Gaza: “Gaza isn’t an issue. Gaza is a cause.”
Krayem said the group’s other issues would “become very clear” as it ramped up its public messaging.
The Australian government has called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza since December and voted at the UN in May to enhance the status of the Palestinian diplomatic mission but has said it is open to recognising Palestine only as part of a peace process.
It has refrained from labelling the bombardment of Gaza as genocide and has acknowledged Israel’s right to self-defence after the Hamas attacks, while urging it to comply with international law.
Krayem said the group, which had previously been self-funded, had begun accepting community donations.
