Leaders of Canberra's Muslim community were surprised and saddened by offensive anti-Islamic pamphlets distributed to homes throughout Queanbeyan over the Christmas holidays.

Householders in Queanbeyan received the material depicting a Muslim man physically abusing a woman and a child and an Islamic elder condoning the violence as acceptable to his faith.

One local Muslim leader has questioned the legality of the material and said it was un-Christian to distribute such offensive literature.

The pamphlets were published by Chick Publications, a United States-based evangelical company.

The company has been listed as a hate group by US civil rights organisations, and it is believed they were delivered to Queanbeyan homes by hand. The distributors did not identify themselves and several church groups in the town denied responsibility.

The Vice-president of the Islamic Society of the ACT, Yusef Mansuri, said he was unsure of the legality of such material, but that he had not experienced anti-Islamic sentiment in Canberra or Queanbeyan.

''We are sad about it, we don't agree with the booklet or its logic, but that said, Australia is a democratic country and people are entitled to express themselves,'' he said.

The pamphlet, entitled Is Allah Like You?, depicts an Islamic man who abuses his wife and son until he converts to Christianity and learns the error of his ways.

Mr Mansuri said while he had not come across the anti-Islamic Chick Publications booklets before, he was aware of similar pamphlets targeting Hinduism and Catholics.

''They have a very narrow view on the message of Jesus Christ,'' he said.

''We would like to emphasise that Jesus Christ is our beloved prophet. I don't think he would have condoned such behaviour, especially at this time of year.''

Mr Mansuri extended an invitation to anyone who was interested in learning more about Australia's Islamic community to attend an open day at their local mosque.

Chick Publications is responsible for more than 100 cartoon booklets targeting Catholicism, Mormonism, homosexuality and evolutionary theory.

According to Chick Publications' website, its founder Jack Chick converted to Christianity nearly 50 years ago and was inspired to draw cartoons to convert other non-believers to the faith.

Brisbane woman Marie Hunter's organisation, ELE Trust, was the sole distributor of Chick tracts until they were made available direct to the public via mail order.

She said that a number of different church groups used various Chick Publications in Australia, but as none had identified themselves on the Queanbeyan pamphlets it was likely they had been distributed by a small group of people or an individual.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/antiislam-pamphlet-concern/2408460.aspx?storypage=0