Contemporary anti-Muslim sentiment in Australia is reproduced through a racialisation that corrupts belonging and citizenship. The popular geographies of Islam involve a set of well rehearsed stereotypes, operationalised through a handful of nefarious embodiments. The politics of exclusion and hope in Australia are a crucible from which to identify alternative geographies of western Islam.
Three geographies of hope include the offering of alternative images, defusing the political efficacy of Islamaphobia, and the normalisation of Islam as a western religion. First, drawing out the cultural and religious heterogeneity of Australian Islam confounds the static generalisations which are core to racialisation. Public ignorance of Islam, and the political prominence of 'the Muslim issue', mean that Australians' interest in such information is high. Second, negative constructions of Islam are a political device within Australia have been used by governments and opinion leaders to secure electoral support and to fortify political constituencies. Critical analysis of the political mis-use of Islam is essential, as is the lauding of productive references to Islam by political leaders. Third, the contexts in which Muslim and non-Muslim Australians interact are critical to the normalisation of Islam. However, cross cultural contact has not necessarily generated greater tolerance and understanding. The key conditions that help determine productive interactions are reviewed. Normalisation, and alternative representations, will together generate a public resilience to political racialisation. The constructing of alternative geographies of Islam is both a political and academic engagement in Australia, and it requires strong links between researchers, Islamic organisations, and government institutions.
Professor Kevin Dunn (BA (W'gong); PhD (Newcastle); FNGS), is Professor of Human Geography and Urban Studies, School of Social Sciences, at The University of Western Sydney. His areas of research include the geographies of racism, immigration and settlement, Islam in Australia, and local government and multiculturalism. Recent books include Landscapes: Ways of Imagining the World, and his recent articles are published in Society and Space, Ethnicities, The Australian Geographer, Studia Islamika, Urban Studies and the Australian Journal of Social Issues. He is Vice President and a Fellow of the New South Wales Geographical Society.
<h4>Workshop 2</h4> <h4>"The hopeful and exclusionary politics of Islam in Australia: constructing alternative geographies of western Islam"
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<br /> Abstract</h4>
<p>Contemporary anti-Muslim sentiment in Australia is reproduced through a racialisation that corrupts belonging and citizenship. The popular geographies of Islam involve a set of well rehearsed stereotypes, operationalised through a handful of nefarious embodiments. The politics of exclusion and hope in Australia are a crucible from which to identify alternative geographies of western Islam.</p>
<p>Three geographies of hope include the offering of alternative images, defusing the political efficacy of Islamaphobia, and the normalisation of Islam as a western religion. First, drawing out the cultural and religious heterogeneity of Australian Islam confounds the static generalisations which are core to racialisation. Public ignorance of Islam, and the political prominence of ‘the Muslim issue’, mean that Australians’ interest in such information is high. Second, negative constructions of Islam are a political device within Australia have been used by governments and opinion leaders to secure electoral support and to fortify political constituencies. Critical analysis of the political mis-use of Islam is essential, as is the lauding of productive references to Islam by political leaders. Third, the contexts in which Muslim and non-Muslim Australians interact are critical to the normalisation of Islam. However, cross cultural contact has not necessarily generated greater tolerance and understanding. The key conditions that help determine productive interactions are reviewed. Normalisation, and alternative representations, will together generate a public resilience to political racialisation. The constructing of alternative geographies of Islam is both a political and academic engagement in Australia, and it requires strong links between researchers, Islamic organisations, and government institutions.</p>
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<br /> <b><a href="https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/schools/soss/our-people/archived_staff_profiles/kevin_dunn">Professor Kevin Dunn</a></b> (BA (W’gong); PhD (Newcastle); FNGS), is Professor of Human Geography and Urban Studies, School of Social Sciences, at The University of Western Sydney. His areas of research include the geographies of racism, immigration and settlement, Islam in Australia, and local government and multiculturalism. Recent books include<i>Landscapes: Ways of Imagining the World</i>, and his recent articles are published in <i>Society and Space, Ethnicities, The Australian Geographer, Studia Islamika, Urban Studies</i> and the <i>Australian Journal of Social Issues</i>. He is Vice President and a Fellow of the New South Wales Geographical Society.
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Religion and Society
