ASIO targeting Muslims 'the wrong way'

Australian Muslims are being asked to consider becoming secret agents for the domestic spy agency, ASIO, but Muslim community leaders say they're going about it the wrong way.

In a rare address, ASIO chief, David Irvine, said the organisation must engage more with multicultural communities.

He warned that the threat of home-grown terrorism could come from either end of the political spectrum.

"We have to get it right every time and as you know the terrorists have to get it right just once," Mr Irvine said.

However that shouldn't make Australians paranoid or disturb the peace in a multicultural nation, he added.

"ASIO is not against Islam, it's against terrorism; against terrorism that kills Muslims and non-Muslims alike," Mr Irvine said.

Ahmed Kalini, from MuslimVillage.com, has been engaged on-and-off with ASIO for the past 10 years.

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He welcomed Mr Irvine's comments, but says ASIO is going about recruiting the wrong way.

"David Irvine is giving a speech about engaging about the Muslim community - but as someone from the Muslim community, we're hearing about it from ... the media," he told SBS.

"You build trust by having open direct communicaiton on all levels ...you do it formally and in a transparent manner," said Mr Kalini.

He is also concerned about how recruiting newly arrived migrants could affect them as they try to settle into the local community.

The Community Relation Commission believes the fact ASIO is engaging is a promising start, even if the execution has been clumsy.

As for the roles on offer, ASIO's website says an 'Intelligence Analyst' needs to give advice, regarding covert activity conducted by foreign entities.

That may include espionage and attempts to interfere in the lives of people, the website says.

Analysts would use listening and tracking devices and have access to restricted information. The starting salary Is $65,000.