KEY POINTS:
CANBERRA - Australia has a bigger portion of Muslim youths at risk of turning to radical Islam than any other Western nation, with up to 3000 in "ideological sleeper cells" in Sydney alone, a study says.
It said between 2000 and 3000 youths, or about 1 per cent of Sydney's 200,000-strong Muslim population, had already been targeted by radical Islamic teachers, with some at risk of making the jump to militancy.
"The radical teaching base here is relatively stronger than you might expect it to be in the UK, the Middle East or the US," said study author Mustapha Kara-Ali.
"The youth community is vulnerable and could be acted on for recruitment and further radicalisation."
Australia has about 340,000 Muslims - 1.6 per cent of the 21 million population.
Kara-Ali, a member of Prime Minister John Howard's Muslim advisory board, said it was far harder for radicals to spread an extremist message in other countries, where moderate groups could resist their message.
"The Muslim community is relatively new here. There isn't an established moderate Islamic order and the extremists are exploiting this."
- REUTERS, AAP
