Author: Heba Batainah

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 588

ISBN-13:

In the decade since the events of 9/11, Muslims and Islam came to act as symbols for the putative correlation between immigration and the erosion of social cohesion in a number of Western countries, including Australia. Increasingly, immigrant integration was believed to be key to the maintenance of social cohesion and individual immigrant integration was seen as the main factor in successful integration. The Howard Government distanced itself from multicultural policies by rejecting group identities for 'ethnic' minorities, while, conversely, strengthening group identity in terms of nationalism and citizenship. Following other Western societies, the integration of Muslims in Australia became characterised as a security imperative and the responsibilities of Muslim citizens increasingly became embedded within the discourse of terrorism, where Muslim citizens are simultaneously suspected as potential terrorists and encouraged to act as community watchdogs. Politicians also came to see terrorism as something harboured within Islamic communities in Australia and Muslim lack of belonging came to be viewed as having 'cultural' and 'religious' underpinnings.