Politics has a way of being both deeply serious and deeply amusing. I say that as someone who, many years ago, made an unsuccessful tilt at preselection for the seat of Auburn. It’s a story I can now tell with a smile-proof, perhaps, that politics humbles all who engage in it.
I’ve also been a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) for over 30 years. That is not incidental. It’s a part of my public record, and part of my ongoing reflection as I watch this year’s federal election take shape. This is a moment in which Australian Muslims are wrestling with their political identity in a way we have not seen in recent times.
The upcoming federal election is proving to be a profound inflection point for the Muslim community in Australia. Galvanised by moral outrage over Gaza, many within the community have moved beyond quiet frustration to political action.
The ongoing war(s) in the Middle East, in particular the live streamed massacres in Gaza have sharpened long-held concerns about whether our voices—and our values—are truly being heard.
In Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and beyond, Muslims are standing as independent candidates, or rallying around new platforms like the Australia’s Voice Party. Some are doubling down on their support for the ALP.
Their campaigns, while diverse in style and emphasis, are united by a clear desire to demonstrate that the community’s political engagement is growing more confident, more principled, and more determined.
A tipping point
The tragedy unfolding in Gaza has had a seismic effect on how many Australian Muslims perceive their place in national politics.
In recent months, the ALP — like many governing parties around the world — has faced the challenge of managing a complex balancing act: aligning with its longstanding ally, the United States, while also listening carefully to key domestic constituencies.
This includes the Muslim community, many of whom have felt abandoned or unheard during one of the greatest humanitarian catastrophes in a generation.
It is this dissonance — not merely the events themselves — that has triggered political responses across our community.
And those responses have taken shape in the most public of ways.
The rise of independent Muslim candidates
We are now seeing the emergence of several Muslim candidates across the country, each running in strategic seats and bringing their own community credibility to bear.
In Western Sydney, Dr Ziad Basyouni is standing as an independent in Blaxland, long-held by Labor. “We can no longer accept symbolic gestures,” he told the ABC. “Our community deserves principled representation that does not flinch in the face of injustice.”
Also in Western Sydney, Ahmed Ouf, a pharmacist, is running in McMahon. He told The Guardian: “I decided to run because I saw too many people in our community feeling hopeless, unheard, and unrepresented.”
In Calwell (Victoria), Samim Moslih, an Afghan-Australian public servant, has launched his own candidacy. “We need to be in the rooms where decisions are made,” he has said.
And perhaps most prominently, Senator Fatima Payman, the former Labor Senator, has helped found the Australia’s Voice Party and is expected to contest a lower house seat. Her journey has captured the attention of a younger generation of Muslim Australians looking for boldness and principle.
These campaigns do not necessarily have the infrastructure or funding of the major parties, but they do carry symbolic weight. They reflect a desire among many Australian Muslims to be seen, to be counted, and to lead.
Electoral implications: A risky proposition?
There is, of course, another layer to this story. Some within the Muslim community worry that this growing independent movement could unintentionally deliver victories to the Liberal Party and more broadly the Coalition in key seats.
This is not an idle concern. Many Muslim voters are acutely aware of the Liberal Party’s positions on civil liberties, national security, and race relations. For some, the idea of splitting the progressive vote is deeply unsettling.
And yet, the dilemma is real. Many within the community feel politically cornered. The ALP’s attempt to balance its alliance with the United States while managing internal pressure from Muslim and progressive members has left deep fractures. In some cases, those fractures feel irreparable.
This has presented Muslims in Australia with what can only be described as a triple bind. Support the ALP and risk endorsing positions that feel morally indefensible. Vote for independents and risk aiding the return of a party with a far less inclusive track record. Or disengage entirely and watch decisions continue to be made without us.
In this context, some have maintained that supporting the ALP is our best bet – while not perfect, its approach to our issues is known and can at least be pressured or negotiated. And so some prominent and influential actors within the community have continued to advise the community to back Labor.
It’s an impossible set of options. And yet, many are choosing to engage anyway, not because the solutions are easy, but because the stakes are too high to remain silent.
This moment in our political history reveals just how complex the path toward representation can be. It also highlights the need for communities like ours to invest more deeply in long-term political strategy.
Beyond 2025: What this all means
As someone who has worked across public, private, and community sectors for decades, I see this election not just in terms of outcomes, but in terms of what it signals.
It signals that Australian Muslims are willing to invest in the long, difficult work of civic participation.
It signals that disappointment with the major parties does not automatically translate into disengagement.
And it signals that many in the community are ready to explore new avenues for political expression, even while recognizing the limits and challenges of such pathways. Many of these unpredictable, uncertain but
This is not a wholesale rejection of the ALP or of our country’s democratic institutions. Rather, it is a call for nuance, sincerity, and courage, from all sides.
Australian Muslims, like all Australians, want to feel that their voice matters. That their values are reflected. And that their views, lived experiences and pain is not overlooked.
The 2025 federal election is shaping up to be a historic one for our community. Not because any single candidate, party or group will transform the landscape overnight, but because this moment may mark the beginning of a deeper shift in how the Australin Muslim community engages with power.
It’s about stepping forward with clarity, communicating and engaging, across the political spectrum to contribute to the rich social & political fabric of Australia.
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