Ordinary Cosmopolitans: Sydney Muslims’ attitudes to diversity

Islam in Australia: A National Survey of Muslim Australian Citizens and Permanent Residents

“…For instance, Rane et al (2011) conducted a survey of Muslims in Queensland, which examined participant views on a range of issues including identity and social integration. Dunn et al (2016) conducted a survey of Muslims in Sydney, which examined participants' views on diversity, equality, and integration. Methodologically, these surveys have primarily been conducted via telephone (Goli and Rezaei 2011), self-administered questionnaires (Rane et al 2011), face-to-face interviews (Pew Research Center), and a combination of both telephone and face-to-face (Dunn et al 2016).…”

“…Dunn et al (2016) conducted a survey of Muslims in Sydney, which examined participants' views on diversity, equality, and integration. Methodologically, these surveys have primarily been conducted via telephone (Goli and Rezaei 2011), self-administered questionnaires (Rane et al 2011), face-to-face interviews (Pew Research Center), and a combination of both telephone and face-to-face (Dunn et al 2016). However, the internet and social media have increasingly been recognized as effective platforms for conducting surveys, particularly for minority groups and diverse communities whose members may be hard to reach in order to capture a representative sample (Johnson et al 2016).…”

“…Among the policies considered "not very" or "not at all" trustworthy were counter-terrorism policy (50.4%), followed by border protection policy (47.7%), countering violent extremism policy (43.2%), and multicultural policy (27.6%). These findings are perhaps unsurprising given the positive regard Muslims are generally recorded to have in relation to multiculturalism, their concern with border protection policies, and stigma Muslim Australians have experienced in relation to counterterrorism and countering violent extremism policies (Dunn et al 2016).…”

Australians’ Views on Cultural Diversity, Nation and Migration, 2015-16

“…Such negative perceptions of particular groups within the multicultural landscape are problematic as they have 'the potential to generate substantial inter-communal tensions in the workplaces and other public realms of Australian society' (Dunn et al 2004, p.425) as evidenced in everyday experiences of racism and marginalisation (Essed 1991;Essed 2002;Dunn et al2007;Fozdar and Terezani 2008;Dunn et al 2015;Rajendran 2017). Therefore, we reiterate Dunn et al's (2004) assertion from over a decade ago that 'the confrontation of this sociobiological and pessimistic [and narrow] understanding of nation remains an unfinished public policy imperative of Australian multicultural policy' (p.426).…”

“…Fifty years since the 1967 referendum to include Aboriginal Australians in the census, and ten years since the highly criticised Northern Territory intervention into remote Aboriginal communities, Aboriginal people in Australia continue to be marginalised politically, economically, and socially (McGregor 2011, Moore 2014. Reported experiences of racism and Islamophobia have remained high for several years, with a 2015 report on Muslim experiences in Australia finding that 57 per cent of Muslim Australian respondents had experienced racism (Dunn et al 2015). Such increases in racist incidents have coincided with a (failed) political attempt to amend/repeal Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act-a legislative protection from 'offensive behaviour because of race, colour or national or ethnic origin' (Racial Discrimination Act 1975, s.18C).…”