Sidney, Austrailia - Muslim leaders have urged Kevin Rudd to revive an Islamic taskforce to advise his fledgling regime on Islam and community-related problems.
But the nation's most senior Islamic leaders, who headed John Howard's now disbanded Muslim Community Reference Group, are already divided about the proposed committee.
Mr Howard's 14-member committee, which included the sacked former mufti of Australia Taj Din al-Hilali, was dogged by in-fighting and ethnic rivalry that eventually lead to its downfall after one year.
However, Aziza Abdel-Halim yesterday stressed the importance of forming another government-backed Islamic body to shield Australia's almost 350,000 Muslims from being racially and religiously targeted by opponents of Islam.
The former senior member of Mr Howard's Muslim advisory board said an Islamic taskforce should also be representative at a state level.
"We're always targeted, we're always painted with a black brush and that does not help our young people to really adjust and integrate," she told The Australian.
Sister Abdel-Halim said the body would consist of Muslim leaders of various ages, and educational and professional backgrounds.