12:00a.m. 23rd May 2008

A Sunshine Coast commercial lawyer elected to head the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils hopes to encourage greater integration of Muslims into the broader community.

Haset Sali, who practises at Alexandra Headland, was elected interim president of Australia’s peak Muslim body after a coup ousted the old leadership at the weekend.

Mr Sali, the organisation’s honorary adviser for many years, will head an executive that has been given 180 days before fresh elections to ensure genuine members are properly enfranchised.

“If we hadn’t stood up we could have lost the assets (estimated at $50 million) indefinitely,’’ he said.

> Read Caroline Hutchinson's blog about Haset Sali here