Singapore-based terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna and terrorism researcher Dr Clive Williams says religious leaders in the two capitals are preaching violence to impressionable followers, but delivering their messages outside mosques.
The head of the Prime Minister's Muslim Community Reference Group, Doctor Ameer Ali, has denied the researchers’ claims, saying that if Dr Gunaratna had such information he should hand it to authorities, so action can be taken.
Dr Ali said that Muslim leaders at a forum in Sydney yesterday repeated their commitment to peace and united action against those who pervert Islam for the purposes of terrorism.
“There is a commitment from everyone to work for the cohesiveness of the peace of this country and they are prepared to identify and condemn the people who are taking Islam into their own hands to preach their distortionist views of Islam and to achieve their own ends,” he said.
'We continue to worry'
Mr Howard has not rejected Dr Gunaratna's claims, but would not give details of the government's specific concerns.
"I never talk about any information I have, but suffice to say that we continue to worry that there is a section of the Islamic community, a very small section, that is not serving the interests of anybody with some of the things that they've had to say," Mr Howard told Macquarie radio.
"...I think we have to be realistic enough to recognise that if people are going to incite others to do evil things they will find a way of doing it to try and escape attention.
"But the more open you make the links between all sections of the community and the mainstream of the community, the better able we are to ensure that, as far as possible, acts of violence and anti-social behaviour don't occur."