The Australian government and moderate Muslim leaders pledged yesterday to join forces in the fight against terrorism and to blend Australian values with Islamic teachings at mosques and schools.
But critics said the exclusion of radical Muslims from the landmark summit at Parliament House risked further marginalizing young Muslims among Australia's 350,000 Islamic community.
Although Australia has never been hit by a major terror attack there are fears that Prime Minister John Howard's close links to the US and decision to send troops to Afghanistan and Iraq have raised the country's profile as a target for Islamic anger.
Hassim Doureihi, the Sydney spokesman for the radical Hizb ut-Tahrir Islamic group that was recently banned in Britain, said the government should accept that its foreign policy on Iraq and Afghanistan was to blame for anger among Muslims.
"It's disappointing to see that the prime minister continues to fail to acknowledge any responsibility for a condition which he gave rise to and which Western governments continue to give rise to," said Doureihi, who was not invited to the summit.
"We reject any attempt to place the collective burden upon the Muslim community and not upon the government itself," he said.
Canberra recently increased its troop numbers in Iraq and plans to send 190 elite combat troops to Afghanistan next month to fight al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgents.
Howard hand-picked the 14 leaders invited to the summit to discuss how to stamp out extremism and keep the country safe from terror attacks in the aftermath of the London bombings killed 52 rail and bus commuters on July 7.
The government pledged to help provide better trained imams in a country that has no accredited Muslim theology school and where English-speaking Islamic clerics are rare.
"We do believe that more can be done to bring an Australian perspective," Howard told reporters without elaborating on the government's involvement.
The government and religious leaders have also agreed to cooperate on ensuring that children in Islamic schools were not being taught extremist religious views.
The summit agreed on a statement of principles that declared that "an overriding loyalty to Australia and a commitment to its traditions, values and institutions is the common bond that unites us all."
"Members of the Muslim faith and in particular its leaders have a responsibility to challenge and counteract those who seek to encourage the use of violence and terrorism in the name of Islam," the statement released after the meeting said.
"The government must support and encourage Islamic leaders to challenge and eradicate extrem-ism," it said.
The summit came after Howard accused Australian Muslim leaders of failing to do enough to prevent radical preachers from influencing young Muslims.
A leading delegate Ameer Ali, president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, said the Muslim community would provide the government with practical suggestions about training of imams, ensure tolerance is preached in schools and tell Canberra about problems facing young Muslims.
"This is not the end ... it's the beginning of a long process," Ali said.
He said the government's decision to send Australian troops to Iraq and Afghanistan had sparked debate and anger in the community.
But Ali, a supporter of the government's role in the war on terror, added: "We're not here to change the foreign policy of this country."
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