‘I didn’t know if it was illegal for her to talk about my religion in a job interview’

Abstract

Muslim women in Australia, as in many other majority non-Muslim countries, have experienced unprecedented levels of hostility and negativity over the last few years. These experiences have been described by the term ‘islamophobia’, a word that was coined in the mid-1990s in Britain and that has gained significant purchase in the British literature particularly. This term has not had the same level of influence in Australia, although its usage is becoming more popular despite some criticisms of its definition and application. This article discusses and develops these critiques and offers religious racism as an alternative term. It offers a critique of existing South Australian and Commonwealth anti-racism and anti-discrimination legislation and argues that, although there appears to be broad bureaucratic recognition of the existence of religious racism, the legislation does not protect Muslims in South Australia from such racism based on religious affiliation. This article also draws upon narratives told by young Muslim women in South Australia to illustrate not only the nature and pervasiveness of the racism they experience, but also the complete lack of protection for these women under existing legal frameworks.

Everyday Hybridity and Hong Kong's Muslim Youth

“…Terrorism and September 11, 2001, are dominating themes articulated in contemporary work on minority Muslim youth [Amin 2002;Fekete 2004;Maira 2005;Mathur 2006;Mason 2006, 2007]. This pervasive focus has meant that work on the identity and culture of Muslim youth in the West has been largely replaced by enquiries into terrorism, social justice, nationalism and racism [Turner 2003: 415;Hage 2003;Fekte 2004;Maira 2005;Imtoual 2006]. A particular impression advanced by such work is that these are the most pressing and immediate issues for Muslims.…”

Education's economic return in multicultural Australia: Demographic analysis

“…This type of discrimination can be particularly prevalent for Muslim female migrants who maintain their religious identity, such as certain dress codes and names, which makes them an easily distinguishable group in the host society and particularly in its labour market (e.g. Abraham, 2006;Anker, 1998;Evans and Kelley, 1986;Foroutan, 2019aForoutan, , 2011ab, 2020aForoutan, ,b, 2021aFurseth, 2011;Imtoual, 2006;Kabir and Evans, 2002;Khawaja and Hebbani, 2018;Loosemore et al, 2021;Miaari et al, 2019;Savelkoul, Scheepers, Tolsma, & Hagendoorn, 2010;Warburg, 2011;Wilkins-Laflamme, 2018;Williams and Vashi, 2007).…”

The secular contract: sovereignty, secularism and law in Australia

“…Unlike the United States provisions, section 116 is not binding on state and territory governments (Hogan 1981, 219;McLeish 1992, 209;Puls 1998, 141). Theoretically this means that state and territory governments are not obliged to provide religious protection, though all but South Australia prohibit religious discrimination (Imtoual 2006;Maddox 2001, 106). Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania also have provisions protecting individuals from religious vilification.…”