Media Representations of Arabs & Muslims in Post-Multicultural Australia
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COPYRIGHT AND USE OF THIS THESIS This thesis must be used in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Reproduction of material protected by copyright may be an infringement of copyright and copyright owners may be entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. Section 51 (2) of the Copyright Act permits an authorized officer of a university library or archives to provide a copy (by communication or otherwise) of an unpublished thesis kept in the library or archives, to a person who satisfies the authorized officer that he or she requires the reproduction for the purposes of research or study. The Copyright Act grants the creator of a work a number of moral rights, specifically the right of attribution, the right against false attribution and the right of integrity. You may infringe the author’s moral rights if you: - fail to acknowledge the author of this thesis if you quote sections from the work - attribute this thesis to another author - subject this thesis to derogatory treatment which may prejudice the author’s reputation For further information contact the University’s Director of Copyright Services sydney.edu.au/copyright Of Arabs & Muslims in Post-Multicultural Australia By Ghassan Nakhoul A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Master of Arts by Research Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences The University of Sydney 2013 Declaration This work is the author’s own original research on the basis of sources available as of August 2013. All sources of information have been acknowledged. The author takes responsibility for any errors and omissions. Ghassan Nakhoul Table of Contents Acknowledgements iii Abstract iv Abbreviations v Introduction 1 Chapter 1: 17 Demise of Multiculturalism Social Inclusion or Reclaiming the Assimilatory Past Chapter 2: 33 Terror Australis Awakening the Sleeping Cells of “Orientalism” Chapter 3: 63 The Five Weaknesses of the Newsroom “Orientalism” Nostalgia in the Asylum Seekers‟ Narrative Chapter 4: 104 The Cronulla Phenomenon Bashing the „Oriental-colored‟, Keeping them „at bay‟ Epilogue 139 Appendices 146 Bibliography 154 Acknowledgements I would like to thank all the people who have helped me throughout my research. Without their kindness and support, this overwhelming task would not have been accomplished. I am especially grateful to my Supervisor, Associate Professor Dr Nijmeh Hajjar, for her dedication, guidance, professionalism, leadership and patience. I am also grateful to my Associate Supervisor, Associate Professor Dr Ahmad Shboul, for his guidance and wisdom. Special thanks go to the library staff at the University of Sydney, the State Library of NSW, SBS Radio’s Resource Centre, and to my colleagues at SBS Radio’s Arabic Program particularly Marie Myssy. Last but not least, I’m grateful to my family, especially my wife Joceline. Abstract This research examines the representations of Arab and Muslim Australians in the media and political discourse on the issues of terrorism, boat people and the Cronulla riots, during the Howard years. The research is based on analysing events, political statements, media reports and broadcasts that have negatively portrayed the Arabic and Muslim communities in Australia. The study argues that the contemptuous depiction of Arabs and Muslims in the mainstream media was due to two factors: Orientalist attitudes and the ushering of a new post-multiculturalism era which is now being carried out under the banner of social inclusion. I have termed the difficult times that Australia has experienced with some controversial issues concerning Arabs and Muslims, such as the issues of terrorism, boat people and ethnic tensions as the ‘Australian Trials’. I have also identified the Orientalist Aussie as the main agent, the stirrer and the cause of the Australian Trials. While the first chapter sets the context of Australian attitudes towards multiculturalism in general, the remaining three chapters deal with the issues of terrorism, boat people and the Cronulla events as debated in the media and political discourse. Abbreviations ABS: Australian Bureau of Statistics. ET: El-Telegraph. Age: The Age. FP: Front Page. AHRC: Australian Human Rights HREOC: Human Rights and Equal Commission. Opportunity Commission. AI: Amnesty International. HS: Herald-Sun. AN: Annahar. NS: The Northern Star. Aust: The Australian. NY Mag: New York Magazine. CM: The Courier Mail. SBS RAP: SBS Radio Arabic Program. CT: The Canberra Times. SMH: The Sydney Morning Herald. DFAT: Department of Foreign Affairs and SMH WE: The Sydney Morning Herald Trade. Weekend Edition. DIAC: Department of Immigration and ST: Sunday Telegraph. Citizenship. WA: The West Australian. DIMIA: Department of Immigration and W Aust: The Weekend Australian. Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs. Web: Website. DT: The Daily Telegraph. WM: The Walkley Magazine. Introduction This research examines aspects of the Australian mainstream media representations of Arab and Muslim Australians during John Howard's years in power (1996-2007). The study focuses on three main issues that dominated the media agenda during many years of Howard's conservative governance and did have an adverse impact on Arab and Muslim Australians. The three issues are: terrorism, boat people and the „Cronulla Phenomenon‟. By „Cronulla Phenomenon‟ I mean all the events that were related to the Cronulla issue, from a beach incident between surf lifesavers and young men from Lebanese background on Sunday 4 December 2005, to media incitements that came as a reaction to the incident, the culmination of the events into riots the following Sunday, and the repercussions of the riots. Together, these events make up the Cronulla Phenomenon. I argue that the ramifications of the three contentious issues of terrorism, boat people and the Cronulla Phenomenon were mainly due to contemptuous depictions of Arabs and Muslims in the Australian mainstream media. I also argue that negative portrayals of Arab and Muslim Australians in the media and deriding people from Arabic backgrounds or the Muslim faith in the discourse on terrorism, boat people and the Cronulla Phenomenon were not innocent actions, but rather a reflection of two key factors. The first is a tacit stirrer called Orientalism, a post-colonial Western implied doctrine studied by Edward Said. The second factor is the ushering of a new age in Australian politics, the post-multiculturalism era. In an age when Australia has entered and slowly embraced post-multiculturalism since the Howard years, Orientalism has had its impact on the public life, while negative representations are now continuing under the banner of social inclusion. The research is mainly based on studies and media reports and opinion. While a wide range of Australian and overseas studies are referenced to support the Ghassan Nakhoul, Media Representations of Arabs & Muslims – Introduction research arguments, media reports and articles are mainly derived from five Australian newspapers, three mainstream English and two Arabic. The English-language newspapers are one tabloid, The Daily Telegraph, and two broadsheets, The Sydney Morning Herald (in compact format since March 2013) and The Australian. The Australian Arabic newspapers are El-Telegraph and Annahar. El-Telegraph has recently become a daily newspaper. During the period under study, El-Telegraph was being published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while Annahar was being published on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Other media references are also used to highlight some issues, including – but not restricted to – broadcasts by Alan Jones on Radio 2GB around the Cronulla Phenomenon. Australia is now supposed to be in the era of social inclusion. I argue that deep inside the engineering of social inclusion lies a number of troubled attitudes that have stamped and shaped the „Australian Trials‟ throughout the years. By „Australian Trials‟ I mean Australia's own, peculiar, challenging and confronting experiences and dealings with people from Non-English or Non- European backgrounds. The Australian Trials are the misconceptions, negative attitudes and stereotypical practices of the dominant English culture towards people from various cultural, racial or religious origins, especially Arabs, Middle Easterners, Lebanese and Muslims. The negative effects of the Australian Trials are exacerbated by media slanting, bias and sensationalism. Many researchers and writers – such as Ghassan Hage, Ahmad Shboul, Paul Tabar, Greg Noble, David Marr, Anna Haebich, Jock Collins, Scott Poynting, Peter Manning, Samina Yasmeen and others – have researched the Australian Trials and uncovered their different aspects. I will refer to such works in the course of this research, in addition to relevant writings on issues like terrorism, violence and the media. Paranoia, fear, panic and stereotype are some of the main dynamics of the Australian Trials. They could all lead to racism and ethnic framing. Hage remarks that for Australians, „paranoia‟ is „a pathological form of fear based on a conception of the self as excessively fragile, and 2 Ghassan Nakhoul, Media Representations of Arabs & Muslims – Introduction constantly threatened.‟1 Yet the origin of fear and panic has not always been domestic, as Marr sees it. Marr states that almost „all panics that gust through our politics start somewhere abroad.‟ However, „the source and focus of Australia's disquiet about race is peculiarly our own,‟2 as Marr puts it.