The leader of the house, Tony Burke, and the education minister, Jason Clare, are among the Labor MPs considered to be vulnerable to campaigns run by new groups known as The Muslim Vote and Muslim Votes Matter.
The groups have said it is wrong to characterise them as political parties, but that they are grassroots campaigns to mobilise voters of the Islamic faith who they say have been taken for granted for too long. They are pressing the government to take a stronger line against Israel’s assault on Gaza.
The Muslim Vote’s website says the movement is “powerful enough to sway the outcome of the next federal election (2024). The showdown will be in Southwest Sydney and Melbourne where there is a high density of Muslims in key areas. Watch this space.”