Counter-terrorism advisers and Muslim community leaders have raised serious concerns about Prime Minister Tony Abbott's obsessive use of the phrase "death cult" to describe Islamic State, saying it is counter-productive, ineffective and does some of the terror group's marketing for them.

Of all the existential threats to the Australian way of life, none seem to have captured the Prime Minister's attention like the "death cult", otherwise known as Islamic State, ISIL or ISIS.

An analysis by Fairfax Media of all press releases, transcripts, speeches, interviews and YouTube videos uploaded by the Prime Minister's Office as well as Hansard reveals that Tony Abbott has used the term "death cult" 346 times since September.

In contrast, domestic violence rated a mention just 43 times in the same period.