The results of the Islam in Australia survey are in and they counter many of the stereotypes and misinformation concerning Islam and Muslims in Australia.
In the aftermath of 9/11 and the ‘War on Terror’, high levels of anti-Islam/anti-Muslim sentiments and Islamophobia have been recorded.
Previous research has highlighted that the Australian government’s attempts to ‘counter violent extremism’ unfairly but officially “reinforces many of the core stereotypes of Islam in the West: militancy, fanaticism, intolerance, fundamentalism, misogyny and alienness.”
The Islam in Australia survey was an opportunity for the voices of Muslim Australians to inform public debate on issues that concern Islam and Muslims in Australia.
The survey findings indicate that ethical considerations play a key role in how Muslim Australians think about Islam.
In relation to human equality, 95% said “marriage should be based on mutual respect rather than the subservience of one spouse to the other”, 93% said “people of all religion and no religion should be treated equally”, and 84% percent said “women should be given the same rights and opportunities as men”.
Contrary to the well-worn stereotype associating Muslims with terrorism, 93% said “someone who dies attacking innocent civilians is not a martyr” and 90% said “Islam never permits armed conflict against civilians/non-combatants”. Additionally, 92% said “halal certifiers should assess the ethical treatment of animals as part of the halal certification process”.
Although the majority of Muslims in Australia today arrived after immigration restrictions were lifted in the late 1960s, Muslims have settled in Australia since the late 1800s/early 1900s and were responsible for building Australia’s oldest mosques, including the Holland Park Mosque in Brisbane (built in 1908).
Like the early Muslim Australians, the vast majority Muslims today are content with life in Australia and have good relations with fellow Australians. When asked what they think about “engaging with non-Muslims as family, friends, colleagues and in general social interaction”, 92% of the survey respondents said this is “normal and good”.
The survey also found that 74% are “content with the extent to which Muslims are currently able to practice Islam in Australia”.
However, many Muslim Australians are critical of the way Islam is manifested in some Muslim-majority countries today.
A majority of 52% said Malaysia and Turkey have had the most positive impact on the understanding and practice of Islam among Muslims in general over the past few decades.
At the other end of the spectrum, 63% said Saudi Arabia has had the most negative impact on the understanding and practice of Islam among Muslims in general over the past few decades.
Although countries such as Saudi Arabia have invested heavily in promoting its particular interpretation of Islam, this has not been embraced by most Muslim Australians. For the vast majority of the survey respondents, Islam aligns with values and principles of equality, human rights, social cohesion and social justice. Islam in Australia Survey Results
In addition to closely resembling the broader Muslim Australian population in relation to key demographics including age, gender, place of birth, ethnicity, and employment status, 87% of the survey respondents said they publicly/openly identify as Muslim and 77% said they pray daily.
This gave the researchers confidence that the survey respondents were committed Muslims, sufficiently engaged with Islam and well-placed to answer the survey questions.
The overall findings of the survey have now been published in the journal Religions and further publications are forthcoming.
The researchers hope the survey’s findings will contribute to broader recognition that an authentic, ethical and peaceful Islam, that teaches mutually respectful coexistence, is not only theoretically possible but is generally exemplified in the lived experiences of Muslims in 21st century Australia.
Halim Rane is an Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at Griffith University where he leads the Islam in Society field of study. He is the author of many books and journal articles on Islamic and Muslim issues and is the current president of the Australian Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies (AAIMS).
Comments
15 responses to “Islam in Australia survey results (Australasian Muslim Times Sep 19, 2020)”
Interesting that a (bare) majority say “Malaysia and Turkey have had the most positive impact on the understanding and practice of Islam among Muslims in general over the past few decades”.
I wonder why Malaysia is thought to have had a positive impact on the “understanding and practice” of Islam. I am grateful for the rights and freedoms non-Muslims have in Malaysia, but unsure whether this is best attributed to the contributions of Islamic scholars in Malaysia vs Malaysia’s secular, multi-cultural roots at the founding of Malaysia (or both).
Well, Turkey and Indonesia both have secular constitutions that supposedly protect religious minorities. In Indonesia it has been tested but seems to be holding; good on them. In Turkey, Erdogan is dismantling it as fast as possible. Like many would-be dictators, he sees you as either for or against him; no middle ground allowed. Making Hagia Sophia a mosque again is a deliberate, calculated insult.
Perhaps he intended it as a “deliberate, calculated insult”; I don’t know his mind so can’t tell whether that was the intention. Or perhaps his intention was simply pragmatic, wanting to use such a beautiful building as a mosque.
Personally (as a Christian), I don’t at all feel insulted (even if that was the intent). I thought that since the 1st century when Jesus warned that the Temple would be destroyed and “rebuilt in 3 days”, Christians have long since moved on from having sacred places of worship, to the idea that God is present in any gathering of Christians.
I am happy to leave it to the Jews, Hindus and Muslims to fight over places of worship.
And of course that is entirely your prerogative. Not that I’m suggesting fighting.
But it was Turkey’s national hero, Ataturk, who made it a museum, open to all, in the name of a secular Turkey. A generous and much-appreciated gesture. And, as you probably know, that secular Turkey is now being unwound – sad, because it was in many ways an admirable model.
Thank you for your thoughts about gestures and symbols.
In “Biology of Human Behaviour – good and bad”, Sapolsky (a neuroscientist) wrote about the power of symbols to influence human behaviour. We can see this in the crusades (the cross and Jerusalem as motivating symbols), and also in how cartoons offend Muslim sensibilities about Muhammad.
It is unlikely we can escape the power that symbols have over our lives. But its very power is also an opportunity for good (not just bad). Nelson Mandela exploited the power of rugby (then a symbol of Apartheid) to unite all South Africans.
It seems to me that Jesus succinctly explained the proper attitude we should have towards symbols: “The Sabbath was made for man; not man for the Sabbath” (responding to criticisms about violating the Sabbath – a symbol of Jewish piety – by performing works of healing).
I hope one day, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Christians and secularists/atheists (who likely have their own sacred cows) will one day learn to use symbols for good, not bad.
Yes, I agree. Mind you, I think it is generally accepted that the Cross is the most universally recognised symbol on earth, and while the Crusaders did indeed use it, as have other Christian warriors, it has been more used still as an emblem of mercy and grace. Or, as the old hymn puts it, “the emblem of suffering and shame”, the symbol of utmost disgrace in the Roman world, became the emblem of divine love and mercy (at least for Christians).
True, the cross is sometimes (often) a misunderstood symbol. How could the Ku Klux Klan use the cross as their symbol??
On the other hand, I recall many years ago, an artist caused a huge furor when he put a crucifix” in a bottle of urine, and called it “Piss Christ” (if my memory is right). Was that intended as a “deliberate, calculated insult”?? Fortunately Christians who felt insulted mostly just moved on with their lives.
I like to think that one day, as Muslims and Hindus become more prosperous, educated and secure, they will learn the way of grace and not let themselves be easily manipulated for ill.
“An authentic, ethical and peaceful Islam, that teaches mutually
respectful coexistence, is not only theoretically possible but is
generally exemplified in the lived experiences of Muslims in 21st
century Australia.”
This is surely true. Professor Abdullah Saeed pointed out more than a decade ago that half Australia’s Muslims are barely religious (like more than half our Christians) but want to retain the identity. These Muslims often don’t fast or pray, and integrate easily.
But religious Muslims also make excellent Australians. Often, recent arrivals are grateful for the opportunity to practise their faith without persecution, which minority Muslim groups often face in majority Muslim countries. As religion editor of the Age, I wrote an oped some 15 years ago, when suspicion and vilification of Muslims was at its height, pointing out that religious Muslims tended to be excellent citizens: they don’t gamble or drink or steal, they are vitally involved in family and community, and are keen to build better lives.
That said, I am glad if the security services are watching fanatics – and let’s not forget that most are caught because of concerns within their own communities – just as I want them watching white supremacists and other potential threats. But I’d like them to be a lot less heavy handed, such as calling in young men, interrogating and intimidating them, and making it a criminal offence even to tell anyone they have been questioned.
If anyone is interested – Jim Kable might be, for example – I’ve gone and found that oped. It ran in September 2006.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/islam-makes-good-citizens-20060907-ge330b.html
Thanks, Barney. I was living in Japan in that time (from early-mid-1990s).
I’ve also read Anna Funder’s Stasiland – and that exposé of the secrecy/spying-on-each-other time in the former DDR/East Germany shows me where we are headed now with Border Security/Dutton-Pezzullo/Asio and associated agencies – back to 1950s and our version of McCarthyist USA.
We seem to have got somewhere ugly very fast. I was still at The Age when a couple of very brave Muslims told me of being hauled in and interrogated. They could have gone to jail for that. With one at least it seemed to be just a fishing expedition.
I also have friends out of Islamic lands not themselves religiously defined – escaping in some cases those strictures on their lives as independent free-thinkers – for which the secular nature of Australia (especially some decades ago) was the attraction.
Many thanks for this Halim.
+1
It fits with my own understanding from my Muslim students, work colleagues, friends – from a wide variety of countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Morocco, Egypt – the UK – from my travels, from my reading/study – just check the beautiful short story: The Eye of Allah – by Rudyard Kipling for starters – or understanding the way in which the Islamic world during Europe’s Dark Ages (and they were) kept alive the spirit of enquiry not bound by dogma – mathematics, astronomy, medicine, science – architecture. I lived many years ago in Spain – how amazing to visit Granada – structures of the order of (the palaces) Alhambra and Generalife – stunning, the water flowing all around…oases! The great traveller Ibn Battuta…sects of Islam esoteric and of difference overlaid by historical and cultural cloaks – I was late last year in Azerbaijan – as secular a kind of Islam as one might imagine but I have passed through Bahrain and other parts by plane and seen women folk – totally covered – of other sects. I have watched the everyday observance of giving alms – very impressive – not empty – heartfelt. I don’t thnk the anti-Islam rhetoric of ASIO/the LNP/rightwing newspapers existed until the arrival of the great wedge-master John W Howard. Prior to that – it was scarcely remarked upon – though I might say to new friends who were Muslim that in my youth I had read The Koran (Qur’an) – pretty much like the Bible my summation – same characters largely, similar stories – some parts just like in the Christian Bible rather bloodthirsty I guess – the history sections… Thanks Halim RANE!
Prof Rane. Thank you for this succinct report. I’ve been involved with multicultural and multifaith communities for almost 40 years. I can say that this survey and your analysis captures the reality of Muslims in Australia. Australian Muslims are good, decent , law abiding , morally and ethically responsible citizens. They love Auatralia because Auatralian values and Laws promote community harmony and humanity. Principles Islam and Australian Muslims promote and live with in harmony.