VIOLENT young Muslim men who took part in the Sydney riot two weeks ago could step up to become the next terrorists if they fall under the wrong influences, a senior Australian Federal Police officer says.

The assistant commissioner for counter-terrorism, Steve Lancaster, raised particular concerns about members of the Lebanese community, saying they were over-represented in the ''distorted Sunni Islamist ideology'' in Australia. While they comprise 23 per cent of the country's Muslim population, they make up 60 per cent of those arrested on terrorism charges, he said.

Warning … Steve Lancaster fears terrorists might recruit rioters. Credit:Andrew Meares

''Australian jihadis have fought overseas and have the ability to influence young and disaffected men here in Australia, trying to influence them to do something - that is the major risk,'' Mr Lancaster said at an international conference on terrorism and counter-terrorism in Melbourne yesterday. ''These people will be looking at the young men in the riots and could seek to recruit those with serious violent tendencies,'' he said.

The President of the Lebanese Muslim Association, Samier Dandan, said Mr Lancaster was demonising people based on prosecutions, not convictions, so the percentile of Lebanese could be lower when all the cases were heard. "You are innocent until proven guilty in this country. Is this how we are going to label the Muslim community?"