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Australia battles Muslim extremism on home turf

The London Tube bombings this July have raised concerns about domestic terrorism in countries with large Muslim immigrant populations, including Australia, which has hitherto enjoyed a fair measure of interreligious harmony. To discuss ways to combat the spread of radical teachings, Australian Prime Minister John Howard held a summit Tuesday with moderate Muslim leaders. In the two-hour discussions, officials probed the curriculum of Islamic schools and suggested measures for vetting imams. Mr. Howard has since detailed what this might mean: Sending outsiders into mosques and schools to monitor their messages for extremism.

"We have a right to know whether there is, within any section of the Islamic community, a preaching of the virtues of terrorism, whether any comfort or harbor is given to terrorism within that community," Howard told Australian radio. As other governments have found, however, deciding who represents the Muslim community can be a delicate matter. Large sections of the youth, as well as conservative and more critical clerics, have been left out of Howard`s summit - meaning some of the government`s more aggressive proposals may meet resistance. But the groups who attended the meeting Tuesday hailed it as a successful first step in an ongoing dialogue.

Australia`s most recent census in 2001 revealed rapid growth in the country`s Muslim population. The census found more than 280,000 Australian Muslims, a jump of some 40 percent in five years. Some recent estimates place the figure over 300,000.