AAP FACTCHECK – It’s not true that a new political party called the Australian Muslim Party has been launched just months out from Australia’s federal election, despite claims on social media.
Although there were plans to launch an Australian Muslim Party ahead of the 2016 federal election, this never materialised.
No such party has been registered since and there’s no suggestion a party of this name will field candidates in the coming election.
A post published on Christmas Eve, 2024, by a page called Australian Conservatives, features the text: “QUOTING THE LEADER OF THE NEW AUSTRALIAN MUSLIM PARTY…”
It includes an image of Sydney man Diaa Mohamed and claims about various views he holds, including that he thinks of himself “a Muslim first, an Australian second”.
The meme was created by a group called “Freedom of Speech Productions”, which has not posted on Facebook since 2019.
Another post, sharing a 2015 Yahoo story but published in July 2024, said the party had set its sights on a Senate seat at the next federal election.
It’s true that Mr Mohamed spoke of his intentions to launch a party in 2015, telling the Sydney Morning Herald the decision was in part “a reaction to the six anti-Islamic parties intending to stand for election”.
Ultimately, however, the party was never registered and it did not field any candidates at the 2016 federal election.
Neither have any of its candidates been fielded in the two elections since, and the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) confirmed to AAP FactCheck that no party of that name, or any variation of it, has ever been registered.
None of the states’ or territories’ registers show an Australian Muslim Party either.
The current rules for registering a political party with the AEC stipulate parties must either have at least one member who’s a senator or member of the House of Representatives, or have at least 1500 members.
An AEC spokesperson said that registering with the commission as a political party is not required for a group to put itself forward as a political party and run candidates at a federal election.
However, registering as a party does provide several benefits, such as the ability for a party to nominate candidates for elections in bulk, the ability for a party’s name to be printed beneath a candidate’s name on a House of Representatives ballot paper, and the ability for a party to have a group of candidates in a column bearing its name on a Senate ballot paper.
While party registration is not strictly required for participation in an election, individuals who wish to stand must nominate themselves officially by registering as a candidate.
AEC data shows nobody stood for office under the name of the Australian Muslim Party in 2016, 2019 or 2022.
There is also no suggestion the party or Mr Mohamed intends to stand in the 2025 federal election.
The last mention from Mr Mohamed or anyone from the Australian Muslim Party on their intentions to run for office date back nearly a decade, to late 2015.
Mr Mohamed last made headlines in 2017, after pleading guilty to fraud.
AAP FactCheck unsuccessfully attempted to contact Mr Mohamed and also searched for any public statements to match the claims about his views in the Facebook post.
The only evidence AAP FactCheck could find relating to any of the claims was that he appears to have said he is “a Muslim first and an Australian second” in a radio interview with 2UE in November 2015, according to a tweet by the radio station.
The Verdict
Misleading – The claim is accurate in parts but information has also been presented incorrectly, out of context or omitted.
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