It was a late breakfast for the dozen or so prominent Muslims who gathered at the Al Aseel Restaurant in Greenacre on a Saturday in mid-August. Sydney's Muslims were still reeling from the backlash of the London terrorist bombings. There was a palpable hatred in the suburbs of Australia's biggest city, and none of the attempts by religious leaders seemed to be appeasing the media outcry.

The men and women present - among them a doctor, journalist, teachers and local government councillors - realised that one of their biggest problems was the limited community response to a wider audience. Clerics talking about a political crisis were merely throwing fuel on the flame.

Although the two-hour discussion threw up few details, organisers say it was the first step towards Sydney's Muslims finding a voice outside the mosques of Lakemba. The group has met several times since August and is planning a series of community forums early next year aimed at sparking a "self-help" approach to redressing the negativity caused by terrorism. One of the solutions is a greater involvement, particularly by young people, in mainstream politics.

There are an estimated 200,000 Muslims living in NSW, yet there has never been a Muslim member of Parliament, state or federal. Across the nation there are more than 300,000 Muslims and yet only one MP - the Victorian upper house's Adem Somyurek.

Even though Sydney's Islamic population has been doubling every five years for the past two decades, the best that democracy and proportional representation have thrown up is 13 local government councillors in five local authorities. Not that any of them are seeking the election of a Muslim MP on the basis of religion.

A Marrickville councillor, Saeed Khan, who organised the Greenacre meeting, partly blames the community itself for the statistical anomaly. "Our problem is that the community's leadership has been set up on the basis of religious institutions and Islamic councils, unfortunately to the detriment of the larger community," the Greens councillor says.

"The first-generation migrants from Muslim backgrounds didn't really make an effort to get involved in the political mainstream. Instead, communities were established around mosques. That is still the trend even though, from my experience, the majority of the people are not very religious at all."

Khan and his colleagues say it is a matter of time; that, like the Italians and Greeks, it takes several generations to make a mark politically. He cites the election of the NSW and Victorian premiers, Morris Iemma (Italian) and Steve Bracks (Lebanese).

"There needs to be separation between religious leadership and mainstream. We are good enough to represent all of society, not just Muslims. We want to encourage our young people to become involved in the mainstream; to make sure the system doesn't ignore our community. If we don't do it now, then Muslim people will be further disenfranchised and isolated."

Hicham Zraika, a Labor councillor in Auburn, says he is a realist about the political climate: "Let's face it, if an election took place now, under the current environment, it would be human nature to not preselect someone from the Islamic faith. It's common sense."

Then again, religious beliefs should not influence preselections: "I can't see the relevance in someone being elected just because [they are Muslim]. The idea must be to represent the whole, and show that Australians of Islamic faith believe in the process, and want to be involved and contribute."

Michael Hawatt has already stood four times for the seat of Lakemba in state elections, the last three as the endorsed Liberal candidate. He never encountered bigotry while growing up in Sydney, but does now, including racist tactics during election campaigns when opponents accused him of hiding his faith from voters because he had Anglicised his name, from Mahmoud to Michael.

"People are ready to cut your throat just because you're Muslim," he says. "They try to make you feel guilty as a Muslim because of the action of criminals. The whole problem is our public relations image. No one wants to hear anything positive and the Muslim community is too busy trying to put out fires."

Accusations of racism also flared in last year's federal election when Ed Husic - a non-practising Muslim - was preselected as the Labor Party candidate for the southern Sydney seat of Greenway. In the last days of the campaign, party officials claim there was a concerted local campaign to keep a "towel head" from being elected.

The Philippine community, traditionally Labor supporters and strict Catholics, were sent leaflets in which Husic was portrayed as deliberately concealing his Muslim background and Bosnian name, Edham.

In a speech to the Sydney Institute last month, Husic did not blame racism for his loss, but implored political leaders to denounce fearmongering and vilification of Muslims.

"There's no denying that Muslims in Australia would like to see someone of their faith elected to Parliament. The reason is simple: it would send a signal to both moderate and extremist," he said. "How do we ease the fear that divides people of different faiths? We need to have a clear view about the future we want. That future is one of acceptance and inclusion. The biggest step Muslims can take is to recognise people are scared. They see so-called Muslims doing terrible things to others in the name of religion. People wonder if they, too, will be a victim."

Shaoquett Moselmane hides his disappointment in a cloak of political diplomacy. Labor's Rockdale Mayor has twice missed out on a seat in State Parliament; first to the Sussex Street decision to parachute the former lord mayor of Sydney, Frank Sartor, into a safe seat and then to install the former ALP state secretary, Eric Roozendaal, into the upper house ahead of him.

"It's no use crying over spilt milk," Moselmane says. "The issues were dealt with at the time. I look to the future now and hopefully there will be another opportunity."

So have Muslims suffered because of a lack of political representation?

Another diplomatic reply: "It's hard to say … I don't believe the Muslim community has suffered because it hasn't had a voice, mainly because the Labor Party understand the community. But if there is someone with Muslim background in Parliament … then it is an important part of the democratic process. It is not a necessity but it would be a plus. It could build bridges because it is important to have moderate voices in this debate."

Canterbury councillor Karl Saleh agrees: "If we build more bridges between minority groups then we are going to have a more cohesive society, and a society that allows people to practise their differences."

Sam Iskandar teaches Arabic at Marrickville High School and is in his second term as a Marrickville councillor: "It doesn't matter where you come from as a religion but what you stand for in society. I don't think of Islam as a political ideology. We are trying to build this community on mutual respect and working together for the next generations. The question is how much we stand for social justice."

Malikeh Michaels is a Greens councillor in Canterbury, an "Anglo convert" who turned to Islam seven years ago to marry. She now wears the hijab in her official council photograph: "I put a scarf on two years ago just to identify that I was a Muslim. I wanted to say, 'Hey, I'm a Muslim and a decent person. I am a mother of two and I have a law degree.' Sometimes I get a few odd looks but there hasn't been an adverse reaction."

Michaels says the main reason Muslims have not made a mark politically is the background to their arrival. "Many came from refugee backgrounds and until now have been caught up by the struggle of everyday living, so they haven't been participating fully as citizens. The challenge for the next generation is to begin to move in that direction, hopefully having confidence in the political system."

The Department of Foreign Affairs website describes the growth rate of Islam in Australia as "remarkable". The 2001 census showed a 40 per cent increase in the Muslim population over five years, compared to a 5.7 per cent growth in the country's total population over the same period.

It also showed Muslims come from more than 70 countries, which is why forming a Muslim political party, as was attempted unsuccessfully in Canberra recently, would be a mistake, say Michael Hawatt and others.

"We do not exist of one race," Hawatt says. "Each nationality has their own ideas, influence and problems. If you try bringing a single representative for Muslims it wouldn't work."

Khan agrees: "It would send the wrong message, particularly to our own youth. We need to get over the hang-up in this country about being Muslim. We want to be a part of the mainstream, not a side issue."