One of the state's smallest newspapers has found itself in the middle of a row over an anonymous anti-Muslim rant that it published.

The Bingara Advocate, owned and published by Nancy Capel, the wife of Nationals senator John Williams, ran an article entitled ''Serious concerns for our way of life'', which has been labelled as divisive by the nation's peak Muslim group.

The 32-paragraph article, on page two of the paper, blamed Islam for violent conflicts and ethnic cleansing in Africa, and warns that Muslims are primitive, with no respect for the life of others, especially Christians, and need to be stopped before they take over the country.

The article, written by an 84-year-old former pilot who is not identified, has sparked strong responses, including from politicians and local residents.

The mayor of the 5000-strong Gwydir Shire, John Coulton, said it was a disturbing story.

He had no idea who the author was but wanted to point out that there had never been any religious problems in the shire.

''Our Muslim population is extremely small, if at all,'' he said.

Adam Marshall, MP for the Northern Tablelands, said communities across the electorate were happy to welcome anyone to their towns with genuine country hospitality.

Adam Marshall, the member for Northern Tablelands, said "like me, most people would be shocked at the extreme and inappropriate views expressed in that article.

"However, it would be a great disservice to the people of Bingara if readers think that opinions such as this man's are the norm in this region.

"In my experience, the communities across the Northern Tablelands and especially Bingara, are happy to welcome anyone to their towns with genuine country hospitality."

Ms Capel, who has owned the paper for 17 years, said the article did not reflect her or her husband's views and in hindsight she probably should not have run it, but the author had "worn her down". 

"If we have learned anything out of this, it is that we are not a little red-neck village" she said.

Keysar Trad, a member of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils said it was wrong for any newspaper to publish such unattributed lies, especially when the article had no author and it quoted an unnamed source.

"Such publication without evidence creates more division in society. We need our newspapers, small or big, to be more responsible in what they print on their valuable pages," said Mr Trad.

Paper Ignites Religion Row