"Being Muslim" in Australia Today Student Blog Interviews

Here is where you can all post your final assignment (#4).

This format will allow you to include links and pictures if you choose to do so (but this is not required). More importantly, this format will allow you to share your wonderful work with other students, your friends and family

Enjoy !

Being Muslim in Australia Today

I interviewed Safwa who is a Muslim born in Sudan. When she was two years old her family moved to Australia therefore, she can be said to be an “Australian Muslim”. Safwa’s parents are Muslim migrants, her dad is Egyptian and her mother is a mix of Turkish and Moroccan. It is very important to recognise her background to understand her perception of being Muslim since her cultural background is Australian based. She agrees that her parents are very conservative, and therefore has to deal with traditional knowledge and behaviour of her parents because culturally she is different from her parents.

Being a Muslim in Australia gives her something to live by, rules and guidelines of what are right and what is not. Islam provides her a framework of who she is and acknowledges morals within the society. However, she commented that sometimes it is very hard to be a Muslim because Muslims do not stay in a “Muslim sort of path”, which means they are getting away from Islam. Young people are struggling to get the balance between being Muslim and the Western society (after 9/11 what side should they be?) and they usually choose an absolute side. Safwa believes that those people have to live in a society that wants them to be part of it. Also the victimization from Western society is sometimes a problem but she sees it as an opportunity to teach and inform people instead of feeling negative about it. Therefore, for Safwa Australian and Muslim is the same and not as big deal as people think and in her words “are not mutually exclusive”.

II.1. Biases

Riaz Hassan’s article[1] about piety of Muslim and Christian does not really help especially considering that his survey is biased. 58 per cent of the Muslims surveyed were Muslims from overseas within Australia, whereas only 21 per cent of the Christians surveyed were from overseas. The survey questions were more biased towards Islam because some of the questions did not really apply to Christians. As an example, “The devil actually exists” has different connotations for each of the religions such as Christian interpret the evil as Satan. The Muslim understanding of devil connects with their knowledge of what they have been taught. Safwa interpreted the existence of “Iblis” which referred to as devil in Islam that the Iblis rejected the first man Adam became he is made out of “clay” but Iblis is from fire. Similarly, the question about “Do you fear God?” can be misinterpreted due to the differing nature o f common understandings of Muslims and Christians. Muslims may think of it as being afraid if God because he can punish them, whereas Christians think of respecting God, not fearing him or being threatened by him. Therefore, the context of Riaz Hassan’s article can only use it to understand what the majority of Muslims believe.

II.2. Religious Beliefs of Australian Muslim

As previously mentioned, Safwa is considered to be an Australian Muslim who lived in Australia for the majority of her life. She is therefore a second generation in Western society where non-Islamic law rules the country. I asked her about if secularism occurs among Muslim who grows up Australia because of the gaps they face and it is know that being the second generation Muslim in Australia has cultural difference from non-Muslim. Safwa thinks that it depends where the people grew up that if the community is very strong then, Australian Muslims would not be secular and it is how much they believe Islam. However, Safwa has to admit that she misses out a lot of thing because she is a Muslim. For example, while her non-Muslim friends go out drinking, she cannot go with them due to the fact that Islam does not allow Muslim to drink alcohol. Safwa feels fine with it as Islam is part of her life.

Abdulfattah Yaghi’s article[2] about how the environment has impacts on making the decision of Muslims helps to understand her situation. One of the important things Yaghi mentioned that the organisational culture can be one of crucial elements in faith and making choice has continuous influence over people. These organisational cultures specify the values that can be shared among the believers. Also this act can bring different peoples closer to each other because they may share relatively similar perspectives that they have. Therefore, as Safwa said that it is up to where young Muslim grows up in Australia to practice their religious beliefs.

II.3. Jihad

In discussion with Safwa, I found an interesting idea about Jihad this was relate to Jihad does not mean Holy War, it just started back in the time of the Crusades and took that name of Holy War then. To her Jihad means struggle against something wrong or something against the individuals. For example of her struggling for whether to take off a scarf and wear a bikini is jihad in her own head, that sort of struggle, not waging a holy war against humankind. A religious jihad would mean defending yourself if someone attacks you for being Muslim, but it does not mean going out and trying to fight everyone who is not Muslim. Islam cannot be forced upon anyone. However, according to Safwa it has been interpreted like that by some communities, especially some scholars who give their own version of Islam and use un-Islamic techniques for conversion. Therefore are argues that Western society misunderstands the real meaning of Jihad.

Jihad interpreted by Rudolph Peter [3] shared a similar idea of Jihad as Safwa. He argues that the real meaning of Jihad is The Jihad against oneself or against the devil which means that Jihad is not only about going on war against the enemies of Islam, but it is also war against oneself and against sin. He believes that the preaching of Islamic values to unbelievers and the society of Muslim is also called a Jihad and some modern scholars and intellectuals believe this form of Jihad is the most important out of all the different types of Jihad they have. To spread Islamic values, Jihad involves non-violent methods because they use argumentation and demonstration to preach. It shows that Jihad has different components from the perceptions of Western society.

____________________________________________
[1] Riaz Hassan, “On Being Religious: a study of Christian and Muslim piety in Australia,” Australian Religion Studies of Review, Australia (2002): 87-114
[2] Abdulfattah Yaghi, “Decision makingin a faith-based envirionment: organizational culture versus decision content,” Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, (2007): 355-370.
[3] Rudolph Peters, “The Doctrine of Jihad in Modern Islam” in Jihad in Classical and Modern Islam. Princeton: Marjus Wiener Publishers, (2005): 13-48.

Social Reality in the Eye of the Beholder

(This is an edited version of the initial post, as requested by the blog moderator/course coordinator).

I was honoured to be given the opportunity to interview Safwa, who works for an Islamic College in Brisbane, to gain more insight into the experience of an Australian-Muslim. Safwa has not been a Muslim all her life, but has been a Muslim convert for over 19 years. She was first introduced to Islam by her husband who is Fiji Indian. She accepted Islam on the grounds that her partner would not marry her otherwise. Since then, she has studied Islam and has raised her children accordingly. Safwa and her family have been in Australia for more than 19 years. Safwa believes she and her family “have all blended in with the Western Society.”

Safwa is a self-professed conservative Muslim. She prays five times daily, reads the Qur’an everyday, fasts during the month of Ramadan, and has been to Mecca for Haj three times. To gain increased understanding of Safwa’s experience as an Australian-Muslim, Riaz Hassan’s “On Being Religious: A Study of Christian and Muslim Piety in Australia” (2002), Nahid Kabir’s “Representation of Islam and Muslims in the Australian Media, 2001-2005” (2006) and Spalek and Imtoual’s “Muslim Communities and Counter-Terror Responses: “Hard” Approaches to Community Engagement in the UK and Australia” (2007) will be analysed.

In Hassan’s article, he uses Emile Durkheim’s sociological analyses to explain the religiosity of Muslims in Australia, which also can shed light into Safwa’s experience in Australia. Durkheim saw religion as a system of ideas through which individuals could be representations to themselves for the society of which they are a part of (Durkheim 1915 in Hassan 2002:111). Religion provided a way of comprehending “intelligible social realities” (2002:111). This was manifested in Safwa’s comment, “The Muslim Community [in Australia] has the same concerns and issues as Non-Muslim Communities. Our concerns are drugs, alcohol, crime. Our children are growing up with the Non-Muslim community how can [anyone] isolate them from all of these things? As Muslims we try our best to safeguard our children from these things.”

However, she does not deny the existence of some cultural clashes between the Australian non-Muslim and Muslim communities. I asked her how relevant the Islamic laws (particularly in relation to marriage) (Scott 2007) were to the current multicultural Australian society, and she answered, “The laws that were set down by Islamic Law had very good reason. When you talk about a Muslim man being permitted to marry a Non-Muslim woman… the wife is supposed to raise the children according to Islam. How can a Non-Muslim woman teach a child about a religion she knows nothing about? ... Our food has to be Halal, a non-Muslim home won’t provide Halal food. The child needs to learn about Islam and practice…”

In addition, she admitted, “There are many problems with integrating into the Non-Muslim Societies… Women can not mix with the men because it is non permissible. If a man and a woman who are not married are in a room together the third person is Satan. The only way to integrate is through women only and men only. Western society is all into the men and women integrating.” Safwa experienced ambivalent feelings of blending in well with the Australian community and facing some cultural hurdles.

Mary Douglas’ analysis is helpful to further understand Safwa’s situation. Douglas argues that a people’s symbolic world becomes aligned to the structure of its social world (Douglas in Hassan 2002:111). The religious symbolism that centres on boundaries is standard of societies comprised of small competing groups whose primary social distinction is “us” and “them” (2002:111). According to Douglas, Australian-Muslims are a group whose religious and cultural values become definers of individual and group identities, which are transmitted through the agency of the family and the religious community (2002:112).

Having this in mind, Safwa and I discussed about “community engagement” in Australia which featured highly in government policy and discourse after 9/11. Following the tragic event, Muslims’ duties as active citizens have been shaped by anti-terror measures. These measures encouraged internal community surveillance so the “responsible Muslim citizen” was expected to inform the authorities concerning suspicious and/or perceived to be suspicious activities of their fellow community members (Spalek and Imtoual 2007:185). Although this would prove to be a dilemma for many Muslims, Safwa expressed willingness to report suspicious (terrorist) activities committed by members of her own religious community to the Australian authorities.

Despite this, she portrayed some distrust for the Australian government. Regarding the handling of the Dr Mohamed Haneef case by the Australian government, Safwa shared, “I don’t think the Muslims blame the Australian community for what happened to Dr Haneef. More importantly, [it was] how the government went about the whole issue.”

Safwa’s misgivings about the government are not surprising when various anti-terrorism Acts introduced in Australia have been discriminatory against the Muslim community. These consisted of wide ranging powers for government agencies to detain suspects (who are not permitted to inform anyone that they are detained, including family members) for up to 28 days, and the power to strip search detainees who are 16 and 17 years of age (Spalek and Imtoual 2007:191). Spalek and Imtoual indicate that these laws have incited outrage amongst the Muslim communities who sensed that they were being unjustly targeted (2007:191). They argue that anti-terrorism legislation has invoked feelings of suspicion and alienation for Muslims in Australia (2007:192).

Another struggle Safwa has faced as an Australian-Muslim was the unfair media depiction of Muslims. Nahid Kabir points out that the Western media has inflamed anti-Muslim sentiment following the 9/11 attacks, which subsequently segregated the world into the “evil” Muslim terrorists and the “good” civilised Christians (Kabir 2006:313). He claims Western reporters have presented a distorted image of Islam. Under headlines, “Delighted,” the image of Palestinians euphoric at the 9/11 tragedy was shown on television and major newspapers (2006:315). Since the Palestinians were mostly Muslim, the reports influenced the audience to surmise that all Muslims supported the actions of terrorists (2006:315). The media trend after 9/11 was to imply that Islam equaled terrorism (2006:316).

After reflecting upon my interview with Safwa, it is clear if she was a respondent in Hassan’s pilot comparative study (Hassan 2002), she would be one of the 12 percent of Muslims who were considered to be very religious (2002:88,109). This is reinforced by Safwa’s consistently conservative Islamic worldview which has withstood after almost two decades of Safwa’s residence in a non-Islamic state.

References:

Hassan, R. 2002. “On Being Religious: A Study of Christian and Muslim Piety in Australia.” Australian Religious Studies Review 15 (1): 87-114.

Kabir, N. 2006. “Representation of Islam and Muslims in the Australian Media, 2001-2005.” Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 26 (3): 313-328.

Scott, R. 2007, “Contextual Citizenship in Modern Islamic Thought.” Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations 18 (1): 1-18.

Spalek, B. and A. Imtoual. 2007. “Muslim Communities and Counter-Terror Responses: “Hard” Approaches to Community Engagement in the UK and Australia”. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 27 (2): 185-202.

Born in the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Musadiq is a 22year old university student of Tanzanian descent. He currently lives inBrisbane, Australia under a student visa while also working part-timeat a McDonald's. Besides one brother who lives in Sydney, the rest ofMusadiq's family lives back in Dubai. Musadiq first moved to Australiaat the age of 21 to join his girlfriend who had also moved to Australiafrom Dubai. For two years now he has kept in touch with his familythrough the internet and by telephone, while also traveling back toDubai once or twice a year when possible.

Musadiq's goals in life include such things as traveling the world,being the best husband and father he can be, gaining well-payingemployment and helping the less fortunate such as adopting a child. Forhim, becoming an Engineer would be his dream job. His interests includesports, music and video games while some of his favorite pastimesinclude watching the NBA as well as watching the English premierleague. He also enjoys playing basketball himself.

Born to a Sunni Muslim family, Musadiq was raised to be a Muslim. Asfor his own sense of identity, Musadiq bases his more on his ownpersonal values and beliefs, and sees himself as belonging to the widerworld community than to any particular group or ethnicity. This setsMusadiq apart from the image created by Riaz Hassan in his article. 1.Other than a friend of his here who happens to also be a Muslim,Musadiq states that he does not have any major ties to the Muslimcommunity here in Brisbane. He goes on to further state that he doesnot base his friendships on religion.

His best experiences in Australia have been a culmination of meetingmany different peoples of different backgrounds and cultures. Hehimself says that the single best part of living in Australia is thefreedom, not the freedom to be irresponsible he says, but the freedomto be heard and to be noticed along with the opportunity to livefreely. Conversely, Musadiq describes certain conditions surroundinghis full-fee paying international student fees as a bad experiencewhile his worst one involved his financial rent records being lost bythe business in charge of them. It was all sorted out later on.

Regarding discrimination, Musadiq tells that he has never feltdiscriminated against while living here in Australia. He's neverencountered the factors that certain proponents of anti-discriminationlaws point to, such as those elaborated upon by Rachel A. D. Bloul. 2.As for the wider Muslim community in Australia, Musadiq further statesthat he hasn't noticed anything concerning in the two years he hasresided here. This is a different opinion to the allegations set out bycertain figures in the article written by Nahid Kabir. 3. Musadiq alsoelaborates that Muslims are treated fairly here with an acceptable,decent standard of living. He says that there is no difficulty in beingboth a Muslim and an Australian from his point of view.

Overall, Musadiq seems to lead a way of life almost identical to thatof other Aussies. He works and studies and he also watches and playssports. Musadiq has to take care of himself as all young people, juststarting out in life have to. He spends much of his time with hisgirlfriend and seeks to make the best out of his life. Nearly allAustralians can identify with him and the things that shape and definehis life. In the end, Musadiq considers his life here in Australia tobe a fantastic one.

References

1. Hassan, Riaz. 2002. 'On Being Religious: A Study of Christian andMuslim Piety in Australia'. Australian Religious Studies Review 15 (1):87-114

2. Bloul, Rachel A. D. 2008. 'Anti-discrimination Laws, Islamophobia,and Ethnicization of Muslim Identities in Europe and Australia'.Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 28 (1): 7-25.

3. Kabir, Nahid. 2006. 'Representation of Islam and Muslims in theAustralian Media, 2001-2005'. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 26(3): 313-328.

Mufti Ahmed

The Muslims man that I interview, who I will from here on refer to as Ahmed, is one of the seven Muftis of Australia. Being that Ahmed was a national leader in the Muslim community I wanted to ask him questions not just relating to his personal experience, but what was the experience of the Muslim community as a whole. Ahmed is not an Australian born Muslim; he grew up in Pakistan. I asked him what the difference was, in his experience, living in Pakistan and in Australia. He said a key difference was the political stability in Australia which was not present in Pakistan which created a very unstable atmosphere throughout Pakistan’s society.

Ahmed saw life as an Australian Muslim as one of freedom. In Australia he had the freedom to express himself culturally, e.g. his choice of dress, the freedom to celebrate his culture; freedom to practice his religion founded on the Koran; and freedom to interact socially with all individuals.

I ask Ahmed what were one of the challenges Muslims face within Australia. He replied that perceptions of the Muslim community created by the media, e.g. all Muslims are suspected terrorists, was one of the biggest challenges Muslims face in Australia. I asked him what the future of Australia looked like for Muslims, positive or negative. He said that under the current government the future look good and he viewed it as a positive future for Muslim and non-Muslim relations within the Australian community.

Hassan talks about the Consequential Dimension of religion which concerns how one’s religion affects, “the believers and their daily lives”[1]. It deals with how one approaches different situations in light of their religious beliefs, e.g. an expectation of, “… tangible success in activities of daily life”[2]. The consequential dimension became apparent in the life of Ahmed when I asked him about how he deals with the negative media the Muslim community has gotten. He told me that he no longer worried about the negative and damaging comments of the media. His attitude is that God will deal them for speaking negatively against believers and that God is able to make it right. In the end God will bring to light what is true. I thought this was a fair illustration of the consequential dimension. It illustrated how a man of faith deals with a tough life situation, public criticism, in relation and coherence with his religious beliefs.
Ahmed mentioned one challenge that the Muslim community experienced in Australia, suspicion. He spoke of Australians perception towards Muslims, after September eleventh, to be Muslim was to be a possible terrorist. Kabir comments that the perception after September eleventh, within the Australian community, was that, “… Islam equals terrorism”[3]. Ahmed said that after September eleventh there was a general feeling of insecurity that was a brought on the Muslim community because of the negative light with which the media portrayed the Islamic faith. Kabir talks of the “distorted image” that the media has given the Australian people concerning Islam and its believers[4]. Ahmed, as does Kabir, blames an ignorant and bias media for the suspicion the Muslim community has undergone within the wider community.

Ahmed talked about the future of the Muslim community, in Australia, as a bright future. He believed that under the current federal government the Australian Muslim community would experience a growth in positive relations with the wider Australian community. Under the previous government Ahmed said the Australian Muslim Community felt insecure. There was an attitude, under the Howard led government, of suspicion towards the Islamic faith. Aly and Walker comment on the attitude, of the Howard government, that there were certain aspects of the Islamic faith which would be “confronting” to the Australian public which were viewed as a threat to “… Australian law and [Australian] ideals …”[5]. Ahmed said that the attitude taken by the Howard led government infiltrated parts of the Australian community and made the Australian Muslim community feel insecure about how far the government would go with this attitude. Ahmed believes that, under the new government, the future of Australian Muslims and how they are perceived within the wider Australian community looked positive. He said that if the positive attitude that the current government has toward the Muslim community continues than he believes the future of the Australian Islamic community in Australia is nothing, but positive.

________________________________________________________________
[1] Riaz Hassan, “On Being Religious: A Study of Christian and Muslim Piety in Australia”, Australian Religion Studies Review 15, no. 2 (2002): 91.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Nahid Kabir, “Representation of Islam and Muslims in the Australian Media, 2001-2005,” Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 26, no. 3 (2006): 316.
[4] Nahid Kabir, “Representation of Islam and Muslims in the Australian Media, 2001-2005,” Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 26, no.3 (2006): 315.
[5] Anne Aly and David Walker, “Threats: Recurrent Cultural Anxieties in Australia,” Journal of Muslim
Minority Affairs 27, no. 2 (2007): 210-211.

Interview with Ahmed

With the aim of seeking to understand the experience of ‘being’ a Muslim in Australia, I interviewed Ahmed (whose name has been changed for the protection of his identity), a Pakistani Post Doctorate Fellow at the University of Queensland.

Born and raised in a Muslim family in Pakistan, Ahmad has lived in Australia for less than one year. His experience of being a Muslim in Australia has been resoundingly positive; neither he, nor any of his friends have felt discriminated against, marginalised or religiously taunted in Australia for being Muslim. Based on his experience, he believes that Australians are “quite accommodative” and does not believe them to “hostile” to Muslim people. However, he does recognise that there is greater understanding of Islam among educated non-Muslim Australians.
Ahmed is embracing life in Australia, whilst also maintaining his Muslim identity. He said that he does not find it difficult abstaining from alcohol and that he feels no pressure to do so. He explained that if a non-Muslim friend does not understand, he briefs them and in this way, his non-Muslim friends accept that his abstinence is part of his religious belief, and a part of his lifestyle. Furthermore, Ahmed feels no contradiction between being a Muslim in Australia and living under non-Sharia laws. He believes he can fully realise Muslim religious life in Australia.

I have considered Ahmed’s responses in relation to the article by Riaz Hassan, which explores the differences between Christians and Muslim religiosity and piety in Australia. The comparative study based on survey data, found that in all dimensions of religiosity (the ideological, the ritualistic, the experiential, the intellectual and the consequential), Muslims are more orthodox in their religious beliefs and are ritually more engaged and devoted. However, whilst Ahmed is within demographic of the majority of Muslims surveyed (male, younger than 40, and born outside of Australia), he was not as orthodox in his faith in the ritualistic dimension. With respect to prayer, Ahmed explained that although he does pray, he does not pray five times per day, due to research commitments. Hassan found however, that over half of the Muslim respondents (53.2%) prayed five times per day (2002: 100). Another example can be found in my question, “How often do you read the Qur’an?” Ahmed replied that he was not sure, but it was probably once every couple of weeks. Again, Hassan’s respondents were more orthodox in their responses. He reported that 56% of Muslims read the Qur’an once a day or more or several times a week (2002: 101). This clearly demonstrates that whilst Ahmed is a practising Muslim, he is not as ritually engaged as the Muslim respondents in Hassan’s survey.

Anne Aly and David Walker’s article, Veiled Threats: Recurrent Cultural Anxieties in Australia, analyses Australia’s history of fear for the “other”. This “other” has become Muslims in Australia, and Aly and Walker discuss the way in which this fear has been cultivated, perpetuated and instilled. They discuss in particular the use of the Muslim veil as a metaphor for the “clash of civilizations”, the “veiled threat” of the Islamization of Australia and the spread of fundamentalism (the “invasion narrative”), female oppression, the “cultural divide” between Muslims (even Australian Muslims) and the Australia’s Anglo-Celtic cultural heritage, and increasingly, the threat to Australian security. However Aly and Walker note that a more heterogeneous view of Muslims is emerging within Australia. They observe that a change in the media representation of Muslim women in particular recognises that many of our historically inherited stereotypes do not represent the reality of Muslims in Australia (2007: 212).

Ahmed recognises that uneducated Australians are prone to misinterpreting the true nature of Islam, that of peace (in Ahmed’s view), and that in that context he could understand that misunderstandings and stereotyping do occur. However, he feels that Australians largely represent the more enlightened understanding of Muslims, as discussed by Aly and Walker, which acknowledge that common representations of Muslims do not reflect the reality.

Rachel Bloul’s article, Anti-discrimination Laws, Islamphobia, and Ethnicization of Muslim Identities in Europe and Australia, detailed the lack of legal protection for Muslims who face discrimination on behalf of their faith. Whilst Ahmed had never experienced, or knew of any friends who experienced discrimination due to their being Muslim, he finds the lack of legal protection concerning, stating that all people in Australia have the right to legal protection from religious discrimination. He acknowledges that there are complications with proposed laws, such as the issue of free speech, but believes that alternatives should be sought to ensure that a person of any religion has recourse to legal action should be feel discriminated on religious grounds.

It has been found that Ahmed’s experience of being a Muslim in Australia is a positive one, without religious discrimination, and one where he can fully realise his religious commitments.

Bibliography

Aly, Anne and David Walker. 2007. 'Veiled Threats: Recurrent Cultural Anxieties in Australia'. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 27(2): 203-214.

Bloul, Rachal A. D. 2008. 'Anti-discrimination Laws, Islamophobia, and Ethnicization of Muslim Identities in Europe and Australia'. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 28(1): 7-25.

Hassan, Riaz. 2002. ‘On Being Religious: A Study of Christian and Muslim Piety in Australia’. Australian Religious Studies Review 15(2): 87-114

Being Muslim in Australia Today

For the purpose of this essay, the interviewee goes by the name of Marina.

Over the years, Muslim settlement in Australia has grown steadily. They come from most parts of the world; some being from Lebanon, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh, just to name a few.

I thought it would be interesting however, to learn about the experiences and sentiments of an Australian-born Muslim, someone who, having been born into a Western culture, has to fuse his/her religious traditions, beliefs and cultures while growing up here.

Marina’s parents came here in the 1980s, having relocated from Malaysia due to good employment opportunities. They are devout Muslims who had raised their daughter in a fairly strict Muslim home environment. Born and raised in Mackay, Marina had recently moved to Brisbane in pursuit of her undergraduate studies in the University of Queensland. She acknowledges that she comes from a minority group of people here, but assures that she feels no less Australian. In her 21 years of life Down Under, she has not encountered any bias against herself due to her race or religion. Although there has been no social discrimination, Marina admits that some situations have made her feel misunderstood or “different” amongst her peers.

She divulges that having to explain her religious traditions and beliefs has exasperated her on more than one occasion. Most of her peers would ask about the need to don a veil, the reason behind abstinence from alcohol and pork, and the significance of the Hajj. After explaining to them, they would still appear confused and unconvinced. She gets the same questions even today, from most of her classmates and friends.

Her roommate, a Catholic Australian, also does not understand why she has to pray 5 times a day. Her roommate even told her once, with no offence intended, that she thinks it impractical to do so given that people are so occupied with the day’s activities and scholarly obligations.

According to Hassan (2002), “expressions of religion vary greatly among world religions” (p. 88). As such, the practices of Muslims might appear alien to Christians and Catholics, and vice versa. While Marina refrains from consuming alcohol and pork, prays 5 times a day and covers her hair with cloth – practices that undoubtedly feel very natural to her, her friends from other religious backgrounds would experience difficulties understanding the rationality of those practices.

Hassan’s study also revealed that Muslims were comparatively more practicing in their prayers as compared to Christians (Hassan, 2002, p. 100). Perhaps this could explain why her roommate would consider her praying 5 times a day as extremely devout while Marina understands this as a common practice among members of her Muslim community.

One of the more distinct things that Marina pointed out to me was what she termed as her “acceptance and tolerance of other cultures”. For example, some Muslim friends she knows who came from Egypt and Indonesia would excuse themselves from dinners or events when people start to drink alcohol. She would, however, opt to stay because she personally feels it doesn’t affect her as long as she does not drink herself. This leads to two consequences. Firstly, those Muslim friends would express disagreement with her decision. Secondly, her non-Muslim peers would tell her she’s a less devout Muslim as opposed to the others. She considers both of the fore-mentioned as personally offensive.

An important point Akbarzadeh & Saeed (2001) noted was that the Muslim community in Australia is not one community, but rather, a motley combination of societies from different cultural, political and economic backgrounds (p. 1). Many misconceptions about their practice of the religion have resulted from “a neglect of their diverse social and ethnic heritage” (Akbarzadeh & Saeed, 2001, p. 2). This could be a reason why there is a discrepancy in Marina’s beliefs and those of her Muslim friends who have come from different backgrounds.

References

Akbarzadeh, S. and Saeed, A. 2001. Muslim Communities in Australia. Australia: University of New South Wales Press Ltd.

Hassan, R. 2002. On Being Religious: A Study of Christian and Muslim Piety in Australia taken from Australian Religion Studies Review.

Interview

The interviewee questioned for this blog is a tutor at UQ who is on a scholarship from Malaysia, completing his PhD in communication studies. For the purpose of this analysis, he will be known as Ahmed. He has been living in Australia since July of 2006 and has a great love for Brisbane. Brought up in Malaysia among a strictly Muslim family, Ahmed has continued to follow this path, while simultaneously embracing Australian culture.

Throughout the interview, Ahmed was insistent that although there were certain aspects of being Muslim in Brisbane which were difficult, these had made his faith stronger than ever. Ahmed believes that living in a society which is not built around his needs as a Muslim (such as regular prayer and the restrictions of Halal) means that he does not take his faith for granted.

Ahmed had a very positive outlook on being Islamic in Australia in the current political and social climate. He made it clear that although he had heard stories from Muslim friends about discrimination and marginalisation he had never experienced it himself. In fact, Ahmed seemed to believe that, more than anything the societal conflict was taking place on a group level as opposed to an individual one.

The only concern which Ahmed seemed to have, was that regarding possible conflicts in regards to Australian law and Shari’a law. The example he used was that of a non-Muslim being married to a Muslim, and although this is something allowed in Australia, he stated that such a thing would make him uncomfortable, as it is not permitted by Shari’a. Ahmed sees Australia as being unique and welcoming. Although he has experienced multicultural life in such cities as London and New York, Ahmed was adamant that he has found Australia to be the most welcoming country for him as a Muslim.

This interview is interesting when taken in the context of the article by Riaz Hassan. Based on survey data, Hassan’s article discusses the comparative religiosity and piety of Muslims and Christians in Australia based on survey data. The article concludes that according to the survey Muslims living in Australia were generally more pious and had a higher level of religiosity than Christians. One explanation for this may lie in Ahmed’s feeling that living in a non-Islamic country reinforces his feelings about his religion and prevents him from taking regular Muslim activities for granted.

Two articles from the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs were used to analyse Ahmed’s sentiments. The first was Anti-Discrimination Laws, Islamaphobia and Ethnicization of Muslim Identities in Europe and Australia by Rachel Bloul. This article discusses waves of Islamaphobia in Europe and Australia and the links to anti-discrimination legislation. The article states that the legislation introduced by the Australian government concerning discrimination against and marginalisation of Muslims, is inconsistent and poorly executed. Ahmed’s story seems to be one of witnessing discrimination rather than experiencing it, but he has still been affected by some degree of ethnic marginalisation. In the section of the article ‘Islamaphobia in Australia’ Bloul writes that ‘Australia simplifies and homogenizes Muslim culture and identity, producing “Muslim Others”’. Ahmed’s perspective on the situation was an interesting one; he believes that although of course there are many types of Muslims, the similar situation in which they are placed provides an opportunity to find commonalities. Ahmed thinks that although there is no severe individual conflict between Islam and the west taking place in Australia there is a manifestation of conflict on a larger scale. This attitude is supported by Bloul’s article.

The second article taken from the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs was Veiled Threats: Recurrent Cultural Anxieties in Australia by Anne Aly and David Walker. The article suggests, among other things, that Australia has a ‘history of fear’ concerning foreign immigration. The article focuses on the Muslim ‘veil’ as a perceived symbol of oppression to Australian culture. Ahmed believes that the discrimination and racism taking place against Muslims in western countries comes from misunderstanding and stereotyping, this concurs with the sentiment expressed in article. However, Ahmed maintained throughout the interview that as a Muslim he has viewed Australia positively and stated that he respects Australian culture.

The articles which have been used to analyse the interview largely portray negative aspects of the treatment of Muslims in Australia, and although this was somewhat opposite to the feelings expressed by Ahmed in the interview, these articles contextualise the situation in which he finds himself, living in Australia. Ultimately, Ahmed chooses to focus on the positive aspects of Australian life while understanding that there remains an undercurrent of issues which must be addressed in order to achieve a more harmonious environment.

Bibliography
Aly, A., And D. Walker, 2007. Veiled Threats: Recurrent Anxieties in Australia. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 27 (2): 203-214.
Bloul, Rachel A, 2008. Anti-discrimination Laws, Islamophobia, and Ethnicization of Muslim Identities in Europe and Australia. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 28 (1): 7-25.
Hassan, R., 2002. On Being Religious: A Study of Christian and Musilm Piety in Australia. Australian Religion Studies Review, 15 (2):87-114.

Bint's Story

For the average teen, the transition to adulthood is difficult and often perplexing. Forging a unique identity normally requires a struggle between traditional family ideals, and the desire to be accepted by peers. This is a challenge well-understood by seventeen year-old Bint. A first generation Australian-Muslim, Bint struggles to unite the values of her South Asian-born family, with the values promoted by popular Australian culture. The following blog will use academic writings to examine Bint's experience of being a Muslim in Australia. Whilst explaining the life experiences of an Australian-Muslim teen is problematic, as it relies on some level of generalization, it is important to remember that Bint's narrative is simply one of many.

Bint’s mother and father migrated to Australia with their firstborn, when he was just eight months old. Bint’s father established a restaurant within a trendy inner-city suburb of Brisbane. The business prospered, and Bint’s family grew to include six sons and finally two daughters, including Bint. Bint has attended public schools all her life, and is currently completing secondary education. In recent years, it has become increasingly difficult for Bint to reconcile what she calls her “family’s Muslim expectations,” with the “Aussie teenage norms” she is exposed to at school. “While most of my friends have boyfriends who are able to call and even visit their house, my relationship has only survived because I see Bob every day at school. I have kept Bob a secret because my parent’s [religious] beliefs would never permit their daughter to date… Bob isn’t Muslim, but he understands the restrictions of my family life. When I finish school, though, we’ll have to break up.”

These remarks reveal the conundrum faced by Muslim women living in Western nations. Through investigating the lives of Canadian-Muslim women, Amani Hamdan explains that “women in this context… are not necessarily ‘emancipated and liberated[1]’” by Western notions of sexual freedom, or gender equality. Rather, Bint describes herself as “living a double life,” and is concerned about her future persona[2]. Indeed, Hamdan states that Western education can fundamentally alter a Muslim youth’s perception of themselves and the world[3]. Both Hamdan and Bint advocate for the continued study of Muslim anecdotes, believing this would “disrupt the monolithic representation of Muslim women[4],” and the tendency to universalize the experience of living Islam[5].

The stereotyping of Muslim women by Western media, and indeed society at large, is a phenomenon that Bint has had dealt with on many occasions. Bint chooses to wear the hijab, and says that it acts as a “red flag” for discrimination[6]. “Once, a group of drunk men were kind enough to tell me so,” says Bint with chagrin. It is Bint's belief that anti-Muslim sentiments have grown in recent years, particularly after the events of September 11. “I was just ten years old at the time, but I remember one classmate coming to school and saying it was ‘people like me’ who were responsible for the attacks.” A recent report on Australia’s anti-discrimination laws confirms that there is a burgeoning ‘us versus them’ mentality within the nation[7]. Anti-Muslim prejudice has developed so rapidly, that there is a new term to describe it. As Bint knows first-hand, ‘Islamophobia’ can affect anyone of South Asian, Middle Eastern or Arab appearance[8].

For Bint, life will require a negotiation of her traditional Muslim and popular Australian beliefs. Whilst she is among the 94.8% of Australian Muslims who do not doubt the existence of God, Bint would not describe herself as ‘orthodox’[9]. “There are obvious decisions I have made in my life which contradict traditional Islam.” Bint is among the minority, or 3.9%, of Muslims who pray only once daily[10]. Typically, these are the prayers shared by her family before mealtimes. Moreover, Bint does not believe that Islam offers the only root to salvation. This places her amongst just 9.5% of Australian Muslims, who share her conviction[11]. “Ultimately,” Bint says, “I believe people who lead good, selfless lives, and do not harm others will be loved and cherished by God… At least, that’s what I believe today.”



*All names contained within this blog have been changed to protect individual privacies.


[1] Hamdan, Amani (2007) ‘Arab Muslim Women in Canada: The Untold Narratives’, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 27:1, 134

[2] Bint (Pseudonym). 2008. ‘Being Muslim in Australia Today.’ Personal Interview 18 October 2008: “I definitely feel guilty about deceiving my parents [in regards to Tom.] Maybe in five or ten years I’ll look back and think, gee, what a horrendous thing to do. But then, maybe I’ll be studying Western feminism and it won’t matter… Who knows where I’ll stand in the future.”

[3] Hamdan, Amani (2007) ‘Arab Muslim Women in Canada: The Untold Narratives’, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 27:1, 134 – 136

[4] Hamdan, Amani (2007) ‘Arab Muslim Women in Canada: The Untold Narratives’, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 27:1, 135

[5] Bint (Pseudonym). 2008. ‘Being Muslim in Australia Today.’ Personal Interview 18 October 2008: “Being Muslim means many things for many people… You’d get a different answer from me, a teenage girl living in Australia, then you would if I had grown up in India… Family background, the place where you live… All these factors change your Muslim identity, just like it would any other religion.”

[6] Bint (Pseudonym). 2008. ‘Being Muslim in Australia Today.’ Personal Interview 18 October 2008: “The problem is that most [non-Muslim] people see the hijab and associate very specific things with it… There’s no consideration of my individuality nor my Australianness, to them I’m simply Islamic… Very often [non-Muslim] people will think I’m oppressed, or uneducated.”

[7] Bloul, Rachel A. D. (2008) ‘Anti-discrimination Laws, Islamophobia, and Ethnicization of Muslim Identities in Europe and Australia’ , Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 28:1, 9 – 11

[8] Bloul, Rachel A. D. (2008) ‘Anti-discrimination Laws, Islamophobia, and Ethnicization of Muslim Identities in Europe and Australia’ , Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 28:1, 9 – 11

[9] Riaz Hassan, "On Being Religious: A Study of Christian and Muslim Piety in Australia," Australian Religion Studies Review, 15.2 (2002): 95

[10] Riaz Hassan, "On Being Religious: A Study of Christian and Muslim Piety in Australia," Australian Religion Studies Review, 15.2 (2002): 100

[11] Riaz Hassan, "On Being Religious: A Study of Christian and Muslim Piety in Australia," Australian Religion Studies Review, 15.2 (2002): 98

Interview with an Imam

I count myself lucky enough to have recently had the chance to interview a very distinguished Muslim, one who is both an Imam in the local Brisbane community and a leader in multiple areas of the wider Islamic community of Australia. For the sake of anonymity he will be referred as simply 'Imam' or 'the Imam'.

When I presented the opening question for the interview - What does it mean for you to 'be' a Muslim in Australia today? - the Imam responded very broadly, describing not only his personal experiences but also those of the wider Islamic community. He began by saying that it is very easy and safe for him to live inAustralia, both in a religious and a cultural sense. Religiously, he is free to practise his faith as he wishes; in other words, he is able to follow the Shari'a as described in the Qur'an. There are no restrictions upon this facet of his life. Culturally, the Imam - as with all members of the Australian population - is expected to behave within certain boundaries, however this has not been a difficulty. He also stated that he personally has not been a target of racial discrimination, and that he feels quite comfortable functioning within Australia. In order to further demonstrate this ease of functioning, the Imam wore a traditional thobe to the interview, thereby 'proving' to us that is safe for him to live how he wishes.

These initial responses are very similar to the results obtained in the study completed by Forrest and Dunn (2006), but differ in a number of specific areas. For example, the survey found that, while 'most people' perceive that there are different races in Australia, the vast majority of those surveyed did not attach any discriminatory significance to this. This correlates with the Imam's experiences as a person of Arab descent, as he did not describe himself as having been racially discriminated against. However, Forrest et al. also found that almost half of those surveyed were concerned about multiculturalism, and indeed these people stated that there are groups which do not fit into their view of Australian society. The results from an associated survey -The Racism Project - conducted by UNSW (2001) clarify this statement, as this survey found that, out of all the cultural sub-groups present within Australian society, Muslims face the highest levels of negative attitudes. Therefore, whilst in his day-to-day life the Imam did not feel that he faced any negative attitudes, it is clear that these attitudes do exist.

At this point the focus of the interview expanded from the personal experiences of the Imam to the experiences of the Muslim community as a whole, covering topics including the influence of politicians, the position of women in Islam and many others. However, although the Imam's opinions on and experiences relating to these topics were overwhelming positive, it became clear that there are still negative influences upon his life. Most dominantly, the Imam's frustration with an oft-biased media was quite obvious; he mentioned how the media often purposefully 'twists' Islamic beliefs, his personal experiences, and how he - and the rest of the Islamic community - must peacefully endure this bias, in effect 'disengaging' from the media. He sees our media as having a negative influence upon not only Muslims, but upon the whole of Australia; in his words, 'The media is really damaging this country… for it creates hate amongst each other.' The Imam also cited the influence of certain recently removed politicians as particularly negative. However, regardless of such negatives, the Imam consistently held that Australia is a safe and positive place for Muslims to live and worship

This position clearly parallels the results of Hassan's (2002) study, which suggested that Muslims are quite comfortable practising Islam in Australia and in fact do so to a greater extent than Christians from the same community. The Imam's experiences with the media are also quite typical of Muslims in Australia; Aly (2007) notes that the media 'plays a central role in shaping the attitudes and perceptions of Australian Muslims towards … and within the broader Australian community.' Aly further discusses the issue of Muslim perception in the media by analysing representations of Muslims in terrorism-related articles, mentioning a number of cases of misrepresentation. The Imam's intentional disengagement from the media is perceived to be a sort of 'strategic withdrawal; a form of media activism that empowers individuals to re-construct and re-define their identities as members of a broader community.' With any luck, this 'tactic' will have the desired effect, and will improve the media-related experiences of both the Imam and the wider Muslim community ofAustralia.

In conclusion, what does it mean for the Imam to 'be' a Muslim in Australia? As far as I could tell, the Imam sees his position as a Muslim in Australia to be one of overwhelming positives; in his opinion, the struggles posed by the media and politicians to be insignificant in the face of the divine truth of Islam. As for the future, he feels that 'if they keep things going the same way that they are going now… then we [Muslims] have no problem in Australia.' 

Bibliography

Aly, Anne, Autumn 2007. "Australian Muslim Responses to the Discourse on Terrorism in the Australian Popular Media". The Australian Journal of Social Issues, 42:1 27-4.

Forrest, J. & Dunn K.M., 2006. "Racism and intolerance in Eastern Australia: a geographical perspective," Australian Geographer, 37.2: 167-186.

Riaz Hassan, 2002. "On Being Religious: A Study of Christian and Muslim Piety in Australia," Australian Religion Studies Review, 15.2: 87-114.

UNSW. School of BEES. 2001. "Regional Response profile - Racism Survey: Brisbane Division," http://www.bees.unsw.edu.au/school/staff/dunn/racismfindings.html (accessed October 20, 2008).

Interview

Ahmad is a native 19 year old Australian going to university. His parents immigrated to Australia 30 years ago and has a good amount of extended family in Australia as well. He grew up going to a public school in a district where there were not a lot of Muslims so the friends he grew up with in his neighborhood and classes did not share his religious beliefs. His exposure to Islam came in the form of going weekly to the mosque with his parents. The mosque served as the way for Ahmed to get to know Muslims his own age and form friendships. The separation in his two friend circles drew parallels with how he went through life. The distinction from being a normal Australian and doing things an average boy does like play sports and watch tv and the spiritual side of life seemed to be two separate things. During much of his primary and secondary school years, he was not very serious about Islam partly because most of his time was spent with non Muslims. Although he was not very serious about it, he still went to the mosque with his parents and celebrated some of the Islamic holidays. Consistent with Nieuwkerk ‘s proposition that the first generation of Muslim immigrants tend to forget certain celebrations and that the second generation lacks knowledge of religious events, 1 it seems like this pattern was starting to play out in Ahmed’s life. He was not being immersed in his culture enough resulting in an absence of huge celebrations for religious holidays like it is customary in a Muslim country. Also Nieuwkerk describes an important ‘feeling’ of Ramadan from the busyness of preparing for the celebration in a Muslim country that is absent from a non Muslim country, so the lack of a country wide excitement takes away from the experience. The lack of seeing everyone getting excited and celebrating just propagated Ahmad’s feeling that religious celebrations were not a big deal. Being a minority religion in a different culture made Ahmad feel like there was a separation between his religious life and his non religious life growing up as a child.

When Ahmad went to university, he began to meet more Muslims and joined a fellowship which became his main friend circle. It was during university life that his faith in Islam grew. In that setting he began to see what it was like to be immersed in his religious culture. He began to see how Muslims applied their religion to daily life and how they resolved theological issues. This spurred him to reexamine his religious beliefs and really try to question and make sense of them in a serious way. While Ahmad still has non Muslim friends, he believes that it is his Muslim friends that prompted him to change. Hassan argues that cultural values of one’s base influence how seriously one views religion.2 This seems consistent with Ahmad’s life pattern. He was not as serious about Islam during his younger years because he was being influenced as much by his friends due to his close relationships with non Muslims. In Ahmad’s case, his friends can be described as his cultural base. In college his cultural base changed to being more Muslim oriented so his perception of religion also seemed to correlate positively.

September 11th 2001 happened when Ahmad was still relatively young, around his 8th grade year. Also since he grew up with his group of friends from childhood, he did not notice any significant changes to their interactions. Although is friends did not treat him differently, he did slightly notice a difference in how strangers treated him, but more so in his parent’s case. It was a frustrating experience for Ahmad because him and other Muslims around him did not have any direct link with the terrorists other than race and arguably religion but the stereotype still existed and affected him. He made the remark that he is not sure if it is other people acting differently or whether it is himself being more self conscious about interactions with strangers. Appleton learned from his surveys that one of the main fears that Muslims had after the trade towers attack was the negative perception that non Muslims had of Muslims.3 This fear of differing perception was definitely evident in how Ahmad felt with people slightly treating him differently. Since he was so young when it first happened, he thinks that people did not treat him very differently due to his young age and the high improbability that a 8th grade Muslim boy living in Australia could be connected to the terrorists, but the feeling of being different still occurred. Appleton also states that the university environment tends to be more open minded in regards to stereotypes so Muslims are not generally not treated differently. When Ahmad was asked about whether he agreed with this statement, he said that yes in general most people do not treat Muslims differently than anyone else, but at the same time people that are alike tend to gravitate towards each other. So it was his religious background that made him drift towards people that shared his same beliefs and physical appearances in order to get a sense of belonging. Appleton concludes with the notion that “the future of any faith depends on its ability to capture one generation after another, each in succession has to bridge the gap between man and God for itself.”3 It is this statement that describes how different generations of Muslims get closer to their religion and Ahmad’s way is distinctly different from the ways of his parents who grew up in a Muslim state.

______________________________________
1 Van Nieuwkerk, Karin(2005)'Time and migration: Changes in religious celebrations among Moroccan immigrant
women in the Netherlands',Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs,25:3,385 — 398
2 Hassan, Riaz. 2002. ‘On Being Religious: A Study of Christian and Muslim Piety in Australia’. Australian Religious Studies Review 15 (1): 87-114.
3Appleton, Michael(2005)'The political attitudes of Muslims studying at British universities in the post-9/11
world—Part II',Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs,25:3,299 — 316

Nada Ibrahim - Being Muslim In Australia Today - By Amy Simmons

For Griffith University PhD student Nada Ibrahim, identity is the biggest issue facing Muslims in Australia today. Nada was born in Kenya, raised in various countries around the world, including Egypt, India and Fiji, completed her undergraduate studies in Malaysia and has lived in Australia for the last 20 years. “First and foremost I consider myself a Muslim because my strongest attachment is to my faith… but I also consider myself Australian, Egyptian, Indian and Kenyan because all of these identities form who I am,” she explained. But not all Muslims in Australia, particularly since the events of September 11, are as certain as Nada about who they are. Nada believes 2001 was the first time Muslims in Australia received such “blatant confrontation of hate and negativity”. While September 11 was an unsettling time for the Muslim community in Australia, Nada said it also sparked a “process of empowerment”, urging the community to examine their relationship with non-Muslims. Fortunately, Nada felt Muslims were free to explore their identities in Australia and under Australia’s law, despite it not being Sharia-based. Nada has a Bachelor of Human Sciences in Psychology and a Masters of Education in Guidance and Counseling. She is currently researching her PhD on intimate partner violence in the Muslim community, after which she hopes to continue “the academic side of things” by writing journal articles, but to also set up a counseling centre for Muslim families - “that would be my dream”.

In a personal interview with Nada at Griffith University, Mt Gravatt, she spoke in-depth about what it means to be Muslim in Australia today. Some scholarly research has already been published on Australia’s Muslim community, which helps to shed light on Nada’s experiences. Riaz Hassan in his ‘On Being Religious: A Study of Christian and Muslim Piety in Australia’ (2002) conducted a survey of 87 Christians and 78 Muslims. Hassan concluded there were significant differences in the levels of religiosity between both samples. He found Muslims were more religious, ideologically orthodox and ritually engaged and devoted. While the study has its limitations, one of which will be addressed below, Nada felt these findings were accurate in a number of ways. Firstly, she said Muslims live every day in a constant process of engagement with God. “From the time we wake up to the time we sleep is an act of worship for Muslims,” Nada said, “and this constant engagement with God at an intangible level would produce higher religiosity for Muslims”. Secondly, she felt the Christian clergy system limited an individual’s closeness to God. Nada said Islam differed as there are no intermediaries a Muslim must go through before they can reach God - “It is just you and God and that’s it,” she said. However, Nada strongly disagreed with one of Hassan’s major findings, which concluded that an overwhelming number of Muslim respondents had experienced fear of God. These results were explained using the sociological theory of Emile Durkheim, which argues that religious beliefs, experiences and practices of believers are a particular way of understanding the society they live in and their relations with it. Nada felt this result of Hassan’s, and his explanation, was highly problematic. She said definitions of fear of God would differ largely between Muslims and Christians, and that this should have been factored into Hassan’s discussion. Nada’s own fear of God was more about reverence. “Because of my love for God I only want to be in a place where He has asked me to be, and I don’t want to be in a place where He doesn’t want me to be,” she explained. Thus, Nada felt Hassan’s findings had nothing to do with the society in which the Muslims he surveyed lived.

During the interview Nada also discussed her reasons for wearing the veil, and a number of misconceptions she thought non-Muslim Australians had on the matter. The veil has been a common theme in literature on the Muslim community in Australia, and one recent study highlights the ways it is perceived a ‘threat’ by non-Muslims. ‘Veiled Threats: Recurrent Cultural Anxieties in Australia’ (2007) was written by Anne Aly and David Walker. It argues that Western feminists see the veil as representing the suppression of Muslim women, thus they seek to symbolically and literally unveil them. It also states the veil is perceived as a threat to liberal democracy and national security. But Nada’s reasons for why she, and other Muslim women wear the veil, contradict the concerns of feminists outlined by Aly and Walker. “I wear the veil because it is a commandment from God,” Nada said. She explained the categories of permissibility, which exist under Islamic law, and how wearing the veil was obligatory, just like prayer. “So when I choose to wear the veil it is because God wants me to, not because of the misconception that it’s a male part of the community asking me to”. Moreover, Nada felt the veil had only been symbolically perceived as a security threat in Australia since the events of September 11, as a result of the media making a conscious effort to associate the veil with terror. Aly and Walker’s argument that the veil is perceived as a form of oppression is somewhat evident in the reactions Nada receives from non-Muslims when they discover she is doing her PhD. “Another one of the biggest misconceptions people have is that just because I am covered my brain is covered,” she said. Nada felt non-Muslim people generally associated the veil with an absence of higher education.

The role of media in producing a “veiled threat” was touched on above, but literature has also examined the ways in which media portray Islam and Muslims in Australia more generally. Nahid Kabir in ‘Representations of Islam and Muslims in the Australian Media, 2001 – 2005’ (2006) found that contemporary media coverage of Muslims and their religion focuses on militancy, which effectively demonises all Muslims, and media do not counter this with balanced views. Nada remembered one incident in particular where she noticed the effects of the Australian media coverage of Islam. She was verbally abused while shopping, which to Nada, was a prime example of a member of the public “believing exactly what the media wanted them to” without doing their own research. Kabir also stated that media increasingly link crimes committed by Muslims to the fact they are Muslim, whereas religion is insignificant in crimes committed by non-Muslims. Nada’s experience of the media supported this – “the moment there is something to do with a Muslim, suddenly his faith becomes an issue,” she said. Nada felt it was necessary for media to “look at what Islam says” before they brand an act as Islamic. She believes some media are responsible for constructing “imagined barriers” between non-Muslims and the Muslim community in Australia, in that the former do not consciously chose what to believe about Muslims, rather their beliefs are dictated by journalists or news organisations. “I say think for yourself, if you want a barrier up then make sure it is one that’s at least real,” she said.

References

Aly, Anne and Walker, David. 2007. ‘Veiled Threats: Recurrent Cultural Anxieties in Australia’. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 27 (2): 203-213.

Hassan, Riaz. 2002. ‘On Being Religious: A Study of Christian and Muslim Piety in Australia’. Australian Religious Studies Review 15 (1): 87-114.

Ibrahim, Nada. 2008. ‘Being Muslim in Australia Today’. Personal Interview 17 October 2008.

Kabir, Nahid. 2006. ‘Representation of Islam and Muslims in the Australian Media, 2001-2005’. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 26 (3): 313-328.

Nada Ibrahim - Video - By Amy Simmons

This video interview with Nada Ibrahim was conducted in the prayer room at Griffith University, Mt Gravatt campus, on 17 October 2008. The interview is on being Muslim in Australia today and includes Nada's comments on the events of September 11, wearing the headscarf, media portrayal of the Muslim community, and more.

Nada Ibrahim - Photos - By Amy Simmons

Nada Ibrahim - Photos - By Amy Simmons

Islam in Australia

I caught up with Ahmad for a beer after work in the Brisbane CBD.   Ahmad is a second generation Australian with Bangladeshi heritage, and is currently working for a Barrister dealing with immigration, administrative and constitutional law cases.  While he is evidently a very secular Muslim, he made it clear from the beginning that he believes in Allah and his identity as a Muslim is very important to him.  However, he expresses his faith in a very personal, rather than a ritualistic way.  This, he feels, is typical of Muslims from his generation and cultural background.

Ahmad maintains that in Australia he is able to freely practice his religion, and does not feel that people have treated him differently because he is a Muslim.  When questioned about his contact with other Muslims, Ahmad felt that he associated with other Muslims for more cultural than religious reasons.  It was through his contact with other Muslims that he has experienced the most conflict.   He recounted a story where a friend got offended when the ice-cream they were eating was not halal.  He found this situation very awkward and everybody simply got rid of their ice-cream in order to avoid an argument about something he saw as trivial.

Along with the rest of his family, Ahmad observes Ramadan.  This is a time is important to him, as his whole family gets together to break the fast in the evenings.  Despite often having exams and attending social functions over Ramadan, Ahmad said that his body quickly adjusts and when he attends functions he simply does not drink. 

Using the ideological dimensions of piety in Hassan’s article, Ahmad has a far stronger devotional dimension than ritualistic.[1]  Along with 94.8% of Muslims he believes in Allah absolutely; however he does not believe in the literal truth of the Qur’an, which makes him a minority among Muslims.[2]  He stressed that his social setting heavily influenced his level of religious observance, as while his mother is very religious his father is not.  This meant that he grew up with a mix of religious and secular influences.  This is consistent Douglas’ view that social settings have a large impact upon religion.[3]  Ahmad’s temperament is one of religious self-control, which is most evident during Ramadan, while at the same time he is very much at home in secular social settings.  While he does not refer to the Qur’an to make daily decisions, his beliefs have a large influence on his identity.

Ahmad is a very private about his beliefs, and I myself knew him for some time before I found out that he is a Muslim.   As the selection of respondents in Hassan’s study came from religious institutions,[4] it is likely that this particular demographic, which Ahmad sees as typical, was overlooked. 

It has been recognised that one of the greatest challenges facing Muslims in Western countries is to preserve their Islamic identity without being marginalised.[5]  This leads into a debate within liberal democracies as to whether minorities simply have a right to publically assimilate into the majority and have differences tolerated in the private sphere, or whether there is a right to have one’s differences recognised in both public and private spheres.[6]  Ahmad has clearly assimilated into Australian culture, and feels that his private religious differences are accepted.  He has no desire to take this beyond the private sphere, and would not expect to be treated differently to anybody else under the law or in the workplace.  However, Muslims who take a stricter view and feel that assimilation with the values of Western society is not worth abandoning any part of their religion,[7] are faced with a far more difficult situation.  Michael Merry states that such Muslims find it difficult to envisage their religion as a compartmentalised, private affair.[8]  Consequently, a loose integration rather than total assimilation is most desirable for stricter Muslims who live in Western countries.

As a more secular Muslim, Ahmad says that he has avoided this conflict.   He does not feel that such assimilation has been forced on him; but rather it is a natural result of his upbringing in Australia.  In my personal experience with Muslims, Ahmad’s attitude is quite common.  Despite this, journal articles on this subject tend to focus on stricter Muslims integrating into secular society.  While this is clearly a very important issue, this focus does not allow for the full array of views within the Islamic community to be expressed.

---

[1] Riaz Hassan, ‘On Being Religious:  A Study of Christian and Muslim Piety in Australia,’ (2002) Australian Religious Studies Review 15(1) 87, 90-91.

[2] Ibid, 94-95.

[3] Ibid, 111-112.

[4] Ibid, 92.

[5] Michael Merry, ‘Islam versus (liberal) pluralism?  A Response to Ahmad Yousif,’ (2004) Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 24(1) 123, 123.

[6] H A Hellyer, ‘Muslims and Multiculturalism in the European Union’ (2006) Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 26(3) 329, 332.

[7] Merry, above n 5, 123.

[8] Ibid, 130.

Islam in Australia from Adam's perspective

All the names in this interview have been changed.

When I talked to Adam, he and some other people had arrived early to set the mosque up for Khutbah, the Friday formal preaching session. I talked to Adam at first but some of his friends, the other people setting up, sat down and also contributed at various points. However, this section is only Adam, and a small section where a friend agreed and elaborated on a point Adam made. This isn’t everything, there is quite a lot of stuff that other people contributed which I will post later when I edit it a bit. Thank you everyone for your time.

Adam converted to Islam 6 and a half years ago. He is of European descent and lived in Australia all his life. Adam grew up in a non religion practicing family, but he always felt a pull towards God he felt in his heart. He looked at Christianity and found many Islamic books to look through and finally rested on Islam as he found it to be a ‘beautiful religion’ based on acceptance. His family and friends had had little contact with Muslims and so were worried about his conversion. The principles of Islam led Adam to rearrange his life around the principles of Islam, which left his family and friends wondering how to take the new Adam. Adam’s new life also affected how his work mates saw him. However, Adam lived up to the principles of Islam, which he says are supportive of a good moral character and a respectful person, and now his family and friends are very supportive of his conversion. Everyone should live a praiseworthy life, and the best way to do this is to reform your life to the truth of Islam. His family and friends have been very accepting and have tried to learn what they could to help him follow the path of Islam. Adam is careful to point out that he does not try and convert others to Islam, as that is not a mission of Islam. But it is helpful for all for him to give advice and to show others the Islamic point of view through Islamic literature. Adam’s friend Zayan agrees that conversion is not the point of Islam. It is better to show people the good points of Islam through example, and to support people, whatever their pace, rather than attempt to convert people. When Islam is accepted it must be accepted whole-heartedly and without force.

Adam is involved in the workings of the Mosque, and works as one of a group of people who often finds himself operating as a cultural translator and educator for the Mosque. Converts often enjoy taking on such a role, according to Jensen (2006: 647). Adam was willing to answer my questions on Islam, and to describe his process of conversion, as he felt this was the best way to explain Islam to me. Adam explained that the mosque provides educational services and has an open day for anyone to come in and learn about Islam. Roles such as bridge builders would be less common in countries where the majority is already Muslim and where many people share Islamic tradition and culture, and more common in places like Australia.

Jensen found many converts define themselves as seekers, something that is similar to how Adam described his earlier life looking for the answer to his belief in God. However, Jensen then goes on to explain that many converts had to learn how to believe (2006, 648). Adam said that he had always believed, but what did present a challenge was the lifestyle rules unique to Islam. Adam’s quest was of the spiritual kind that Jensen describes, which is a ‘return to God’ (2006, 648).

Schmidt argues that Islam in the west emphasises the individual choice to follow Islamic practices and does not explain itself as the following of traditional or ethnic practices. The emphasis on choice was very important to Adam, and to his friends, who all explained that forced conversion is wrong, and that Islam is arrived at through debate and understanding (Schmidt 2004 34). Adam described his decision as a long process in which he measured his final decision with other options. The emphasis on choice and options is a feature of Islam in the west (Schimidt 2004 34).

Adam explained that Islam helped make him a more moral person, as it supported the kinds of ideals which the west also holds dear. The ideals of western society such as equality, respect and being helpful, while ideals, are often not supported by a western way of life. However, Islam is considered the way of achieving these universal ideals which the west holds dear as such values are good values according to Islam (Schmidt 2004, 40).

Adam like talking about the ritualistic elements of Islam, using the categories of Hassan. The daily prayers were one example of which Adam’s friends and family were very knowledgable and wanted to help Adam. In the experiential category, God was very much felt to be present and real in his heart (Hassan 2002 104). This feature of believing in God is also found in the ideological Dimension (95). Any place where Adam’s answers can be cross-referenced with Hassan’s, Adam falls into majority category for Muslim respondants. Adam shares the majority viewpoint of Muslims within Australia as found by Hassan.

Adam and his friends all agreed that Australians are accepting of Muslims. When Muslims explain their point of view and their reasons, most people are very willing to be accommodating.

In summary, Islam is a religion based on reason and arrived at through choice, a lifestyle to help in moral development, and a minority grouping within broader Australia.

_____________________________
Jensen, Tina ‘Religious Authority and Autonomy Intertwined the case of converts to Islam’ The Muslim World,96.4 (2006): 643-660.

Riaz Hassan, "On Being Religious: A Study of Christian and Muslim Piety in Australia," Australian Religion Studies Review, 15.2 (2002): 87-114.

Schmidt, Garbi 'Islamic identity formation among young Muslims: the case of Denmark, Sweden and the United States',Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs,24:1 (2004): 31- 45.

"Being Muslim" in Australia Today

Melbourne is a kaleidescope of faiths, cultures, languages, and ethnicity, and Islam is well on its way to becoming the majority of the minority, so to speak. This short report will deal with a Muslim living in Melbourne, and his views on what it means to be a Muslim in Australia. Combined with the case study will be a number of articles, including Riaz Hassan's on levels of religious piety, and also two others which deal with the issues of terrorism and women.

Mohamud is a native of Mauritius, a cluster of islands in close proximity to Madagascar off the east coast of Africa. Originally coming to Australia to study, he is now a successful nurse and family man.

When asked about being a Muslim in Australia, Mohamud had many things to comment upon. He had a very positive view on Australia: he was impressed by the openness of the Australian people, their willingness to accept him into their society. He had witnessed little prejudice or racism, and had received no specific unfair judgements on himself or his family. He was, however, disappointed with the media portrayal of Islam, commenting on the fact that terrorists created a stereotype of all Muslims. He would prefer that Australia was governed by Shari'a law and thinks of it has very beneficial, but admits he has little knowledge of it. Overall Mohamud likes Australia a great deal – it's secularity is of little bother to him, he is not discriminated against in any way, and it is a land of opportunity.

Riaz Hassan's article, A Study of Christian and Muslim Piety in Australia, is largely an explanation of various surveys conducted in Adelaide, which indicate the spiritual belief and physical practice of Christians and Muslims. It deals with such issues as belief in the Qur'an/God/Jesus, regularity of prayer, and belief in other things such as the devil, Biblical/Qur'anic miracles, frequency of scriptural study, and other orthopraxic and orthodoxic issues.

Where this article relates to Mohamud is that it confirms his view on the openness of Australia, as most Muslims were very pious and devoted to their faith, even in liturgical practices, such as prayer and sermons at the Mosque. It shows that Muslims are not restricted in their practices, and receive little discrimination.

Muslim women as defenders of Islamic Heritage is an article written to discuss the issues that Muslims and Muslim women face living in Australia. In analysing the results of various surveys, the author, Santi Rozario, discusses issues such as Islamic identity and relations between Muslims and non-Muslims.

Where this article relates to the story of Mohamud is in common misperceptions directed by non-Muslims towards Muslims. These misperceptions were fuelled and guided by extremist Islamists – a.k.a. Terrorists – and how the media portrayed them, which further gave the assumption of generality among those ignorant of true Islamic norms. Mohamud believes this is the main problem that he faces in Australia – the stereotyping of Muslims. He believes that if non-Muslims simply gave an effort to understand his culture and faith, there would be less problems both globally and locally.

Discourse on Terrorism in the Australian Popular Media is an article which deals with the Australian media portrayal of terrorism, and how Muslims deal with the corresponding stereotype. It discusses situations such as the loss of identity among Australian Muslims and the subsequent effort by Muslims to regain that identity in the face of unfavourable odds. It also describes efforts by Muslims to discourage negative perceptions, and the failure which follows such efforts due to the power and influence of the media.

Mohamud's views mimic such thinking, as he wholeheartedly agrees not with the negative media stereotype, but rather with their incorrect portrayal. Although he personally receives little discrimination, he thinks that all Muslims automatically have a dark blotch above their heads, simply because of the widespread influence of the media.

The views presented by Mohamud and the articles written by Riaz Hassan, Santi Rozario all display common perceptions, or more accurately, misperceptions. They all show that the main issue confronting Australian Muslims is a stereotype born out of those tiny number of Muslims who believe in a violent alternative to Westernization and modernity. The media's depiction of those Muslims should not be taken as the general consensus, and instead non-Muslims should seek to understand Islam before making assumptions.