Muslim groups in Australia say they are boycotting the well-established Sydney Morning Herald newspaper after it suspended a columnist who swore at readers complaining about his opinion piece and an accompanying cartoon about the war in Gaza.

Mike Carlton – a notoriously controversial radio host and SMH columnist – immediately resigned when he was informed of the four-six week suspension last week.

Muslim groups condemned the suspension and accused SMH owner, Fairfax Media, of losing its independence and respected stance, AAP reported.

In a letter to Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood and SMH editor-in-chief Darren Goodsir, the Australian National Imams Council, Islamic Council of NSW and the Muslim Legal Network NSW among others say they will boycott the SMH unless the outspoken writer is reinstated.

“As representatives of the Muslim community we have always regarded Fairfax to be one the more balanced media organisations in the country and where possible we have cooperated with your journalists on countless stories,” the letter says.

“But with the resignation of Mr Carlton from your publications we have now lost one of the very few voices advocating for the Palestinian cause in the country.”

The letter says the groups will consider notifying community organisations and spokespersons to stop cooperating with Fairfax journalists for media interviews.

A media campaign targeting Fairfax advertisers is also being considered.

A Fairfax spokesman told AAP: “We understand and respect that there are strong views being expressed by many parties. But the Herald will not be swayed from its longstanding and ongoing commitment to providing fair, independent and balanced news and reporting.”

On Wednesday Fairfax Media's group director, News & Business Media, Sean Aylmer said the problem was not Carlton’s column but the way he treated readers when they contacted him with issues about both the column and accompanying cartoon.

Carlton used expletives and told some readers to "f--- off", Aylmer said.

In the letter sent to Fairfax, the Muslim community groups also condemned the cartoon that accompanied Carlton’s column.

“It was indeed a racist cartoon that implicated the Jewish people in the actions of the Israeli state by using Jewish symbolism and stereotype,” the letter says.

“However, the apology from Fairfax makes it clear that Fairfax has been put under pressure by the Israeli lobby.”

The letter also accuses the paper of double standards and compares Carlton to another Fairfax columnist, Paul Sheehan, whom the group accuses of “habitual and countless offensive remarks about Muslims and Islam”.

“Despite the Muslim community being outraged and writing countless correspondences to Fairfax management about their concerns, no such scrutiny was applied to Mr Sheehan,” the letter says.

Carlton said he responded to readers in such a way because he had been tolerating offensive remarks for weeks.

"When for weeks you're called Nazi scum and a lot worse, eventually it gets to you and I told a few people where to go," he was quoted by SMH as saying.

"I would have thought in this country of ours that telling a few people where to get off occasionally was not a crime, but the sad thing is to see a once-great newspaper like the Herald buckle to the bullies.”

His column, in which he condemned the Israeli “onslaught” on Palestine, remains online.

“The onslaught is indiscriminate and unrelenting, with but one possible conclusion: Israel is not fighting the terrorists of Hamas. In defiance of the laws of war and the norms of civilised behaviour, it is waging its own war of terror on the entire Gaza population of about 1.7 million people. Call it genocide, call it ethnic cleansing: the aim is to kill Arabs,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, SMH arch rival The Daily Telegraph also attracted criticism in its reporting of Carlton’s resignation.

It published an image of Carton’s head, wearing an Arab head scarf, super-imposed on the body of a Boston bombing victim, badly burnt, fleeing the scene in tattered clothes.