The Systemic Marginalisation of Muslim Australian Voices: to What Extent Can Deliberative Democratic Theory Provide a Response?

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The Systemic Marginalisation of Muslim Australian Voices: to What Extent Can Deliberative Democratic Theory Provide a Response? The systemic marginalisation of Muslim Australian voices: To what extent can Deliberative Democratic theory provide a response? Submitted by Georgina Cole ORCID ID: 0000-0001-7492-0182 A thesis in total fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy July 2017 School of Social and Political Science Faculty of Arts University of Melbourne ii Abstract Muslim communities in Australia are currently facing a number of political and social challenges. One major challenge is the widespread perception that the Australian government’s policy and political discourse concerning terrorism actually targets Muslims. In addition, of all minority groups, Muslim Australians have been disproportionately subjected to psychological and physical hostility by non-Muslim Australians. Compounding these challenges is the lack of genuine public platforms for Muslims to contribute to political discourse, policy-making, and public debate in areas that directly affect them; Muslim Australians are often spoken for and about, but rarely spoken directly to. I argue that these political and social challenges are not and cannot be publicly expressed because of the systemic marginalisation of Muslim Australian voices. Muslim Australian opinions can be ignored, discredited, criticised, and/or publicly deemed “un-Australian” if they are not in accordance with the commonly held attitudes of the government and mainstream society. This thesis critically examines if and how varying interpretations of deliberative democratic theory can be used as a response to the marginalisation of Muslim voices. Through a new configuration of existing critical models applied to a set of normative deliberative principles, I offer a toolkit for deliberation that could increase the influence of Muslim voices in Australian society. My research provides an important contribution to the current literature in that while the impact of government policy and public hostility on Muslim Australians has been the subject of frequent scholarly analysis, there has been much less emphasis placed on designing a comprehensive critical response strategy using widely known and accessible democratic iii frameworks. Even less research has been undertaken to determine how the practical application of deliberative democratic theory – a commonly advocated democratic tool that can empower marginalised voices – could be utilised to offer an appropriate response to the political and social challenges faced by Muslim communities. Indeed, while deliberative democratic initiatives will not completely resolve these issues, as a first step, the critical design for deliberative initiatives I propose in this thesis provides a valuable and applicable response framework that is consistent with increasing the capacity for political expression for Muslim Australians. iv Candidates Declaration I, Georgina Cole, declare that this thesis comprises only my original work towards the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used. This thesis is fewer than the maximum word limit in length, exclusive of bibliography, as approved by the Research Higher Degrees Committee. Georgina Cole July 2017 v Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the excellent advice, ideas and generous support from my two supervisors Professor Adrian Little and Dr Terry McDonald. Their dedication and encouragement has inspired me over this journey. I am lucky to have had their assistance. I would additionally like to thank my wonderful husband James for his patience, guidance and love. I am also sincerely grateful for the tireless support and proofreading and intellectual assistance provided over the years by my father, Christopher Cole. Furthermore, thank you to my mother Wendy Cole and the rest of the Cole family: Adam, Emma, Darren, Ingrid as well as my nieces and nephews. Their love has pushed me forward. I am also grateful to the company: Proofread My Document, for the proofreading services on the final copy of this thesis. vi Table of Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... ii Candidates Declaration ............................................................................................................ iv Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... v Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 Research problem ................................................................................................................................ 1 Aims of this thesis ............................................................................................................................... 4 Theoretical framework ........................................................................................................................ 6 Research design ................................................................................................................................ 10 Thesis chapter outline ....................................................................................................................... 40 Chapter 1 ................................................................................................................................ 19 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 19 Muslim Australians consider that they are the target of counter-terrorism policies ......................... 22 The impact of “softer” counter-terrorism policies ............................................................................ 30 The impact of public statements by Australian politicians ............................................................... 36 Muslim Australians consider that Islamic values, practices, and beliefs are being targeted by the government ....................................................................................................................................... 40 Sharia law ..................................................................................................................................... 45 Burqas and Islamic facial veils ..................................................................................................... 46 Halal certification ......................................................................................................................... 49 Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act .............................................................................. 51 Muslim Australians experience ongoing physical and psychological hostility from non-Muslim Australians ........................................................................................................................................ 53 The increased risk of Muslim radicalisation ..................................................................................... 59 The marginalisation of Muslim Australian voices ............................................................................ 66 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 73 Chapter 2 ................................................................................................................................ 76 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 76 What is deliberative democratic theory? ........................................................................................... 78 What does deliberative democracy look like? .................................................................................. 84 How can deliberative democratic initiatives benefit marginalised voices? ...................................... 88 Three core principles central to increasing the influence of marginalised voices ............................ 91 The inclusion principle.................................................................................................................. 93 The communication principle ........................................................................................................ 97 The consequential principle ........................................................................................................ 100 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 104 vii Chapter 3 .............................................................................................................................. 105 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 105 Muslim Australian participants ....................................................................................................... 108 The inclusion of “ordinary” Muslim Australians ....................................................................... 108 The inclusion of Muslim Australians considered to be “radical” .............................................. 118 Non-Muslim Australian participants ..............................................................................................
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