Australian government mulls Muslim panel

SYDNEY, March 10 (UPI) -- The Australian government is considering breathing new life into a Muslim advisory panel aimed at dismantling the stereotypical image of Islam.

The Australian reported Monday the Muslim advisory board, established by then-Prime Minister John Howard after the London terrorist attacks in 2005, reportedly was beset by infighting.

The newspaper also reported that the Rudd government is also considering reinstating the Council for Multicultural Australia, a panel of diverse ethnic backgrounds.

"We can't prescribe how the Islamic community is to organize itself," Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs Laurie Ferguson told the newspaper. "But we certainly must make sure that the fact there are international tensions and terrorist issues doesn't kind of stereotype the whole community in Australia."

Ferguson added that the notion all Muslims were religious was a misconception.

"The whole specter of Muslims is women in hijabs and other stereotypical characteristics and I think there is not enough opportunity to see a difference," he said. "There's a need to have Muslims involved in parents groups, sporting clubs, political parties ... tuckshops."