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Young Muslims in Brisbane: Negotiating Cultural Identity and Alienation

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Young Muslims in Brisbane: Negotiating Cultural Identity and Alienation CHAPTER 4 Young Muslims in Brisbane: Negotiating Cultural Identity and Alienation Goolam Vahed INTRODUCTION “niche” employment in the secondary labor market, low income levels, lack of opportunity, This paper examines, broadly, the religious, and perceptions of discrimination’ (Fozdar and cultural and national identities, and self- Torezani, 2008: 31). These issues are not peculiar perceptions of young Muslims in Brisbane and to Australia but a concern for many Western the social, economic, and political context in countries, and must be seen in the broader context which these are being configured.1 While of the increasingly important role played by belief Australia’s migrant intake has been diverse since and religion in the post-Cold War world. the 1970s with the arrival of the Lebanese, Turks, and Vietnamese, followed in the 1980s and 1990s METHODOLOGY by migrants from places like Fiji, India, Taiwan, China, and Sri Lanka, and a substantial number This study draws on quantitative and of humanitarian migrants from Africa from around qualitative data, as well as newspaper reports and the year 2000, the Labor government under John websites of relevant organizations to examine Howard (1996-2007) adopted a hostile attitude whether young Muslims experience discri- towards refugees in response to growing anti- mination, and if so, how this is impacting on their Asian sentiment in the 1990s (Jupp, 2007). The identities and what policies can be implemented September 2001 attacks on the Twin Towers in to alleviate the situation. The qualitative aspect New York, Bali bombings in 2002 which targeted involved in-depth interviews with a small, but Australians, the arrest of alleged Muslim important, number of community leaders and terrorists in Sydney and Melbourne during others involved with young Muslims, whose November 2005, riots in Cronulla during profiles are included at the end of this paper, while December 2005, and the more general “War on the quantitative aspect is based on 63 question- Terror” heightened debates about multicul- naires filled out by a randomly selected but turalism in Australia and raised questions in many representative sample of young Muslims.2 This minds about Muslim citizenship and belonging, study seeks especially to present the voices and how best to accommodate religious identity. Muslims themselves. It begins by profiling These questions were raised regularly and Muslims, and then explores some of the issues publicly by some of the country’s most prominent affecting young Muslims, such as the challenges leaders, including the then Prime Minister John they face in relation to mainstream3 Australian Howard, Treasurer Peter Costello, Labor leader society, generational relationships between Kim Beasley, and the popular Premier of New parents and young Muslims; the affiliation South Wales, Morris Iemma, as well as between young Muslims across ethnic, linguistic, conservative columnists in widely read cultural, and national backgrounds, pressures to newspapers like the Courier-Mail and The Daily assimilate, language and other problems at school, Telegraph which play an important role in shaping socio-economic pressures, and contested public opinion. Muslims, whether immigrant or authority among Muslims. The findings of this indigenous, Sunni or Shi’ite, conservative or study are important, both for young Muslims liberal, are treated as a homogenous grouping by themselves, as they seek to chart a path to outsiders, and increasingly subjected to intense adulthood, which is already beset by many pressure to defend themselves for the actions of pitfalls, as well as for policy makers who, one others, demonstrate their loyalty to “the nation,” would assume, want to make optimum use of and reaffirm their acceptance of “Australian human capital and achieve social cohesion values”. It is not surprising therefore that among (Fozdar and Torezani, 2008: 58). many refugees and migrants, especially those of Though Muslims have been in the national Middle Eastern appearance, there are ‘pockets of spotlight in recent years because of international 36 YOUNG MUSLIMS IN BRISBANE: NEGOTIATING CULTURAL IDENTITY AND ALIENATION geo-political tensions, they constitute less than railways and immigration restrictions from 1901 two percent of the Australian population, destroyed their trade, and this embryonic Muslim numbering 340,390 in 2006 (Saeed, 2006). They community gradually disappeared. A permanent are diverse in terms of ethnicity, national origins, Muslim population established itself after World language, culture, and class. While they come War Two when Australia’s need for labour from over a hundred countries, the majority are resulted in the White Australia policy being of Lebanese and Turkish background and most modified in 1956 and the basis of immigration (82.9%) are concentrated in New South Wales shifting from race to occupational skills (Kivisto (NSW) and Victoria. Queensland is home to 20,481 2002). Small numbers of ‘White’ Muslims arrived (6%) of Australia’s Muslim population. Of these, from Cyprus, Bosnia, Albania, Bulgaria, and 14,584 live in Brisbane. This is a relatively young Russia, then 10,000 Turks between 1967 and 1971, population, with 5,401 (37%) aged nineteen or and 17,000 Lebanese from 1975 to 1985. While under. A further 3104 (21.28%) are aged between Muslims are an integral part of the Australian 20 and 29. All told, almost 60% of Muslims are social landscape, their relationship with the under the age of 30. There are marginally more mainstream has been problematic, with acute males than females in this age category, 4382 to tension during watershed national and 4123. Muslims, who are concentrated in south- international incidents such as the controversy east Queensland suburbs like Mansfield, Mount over Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses in 1989; Gravatt, Kuraby, Rochedale, Runcorn, and Eight the Gulf War in 19914, the attack on peacekeeping Miles Plain, comprise just 0.2 percent of Brisbane’s forces in Somalia in 1993, the bombing of the USS population of almost a million. Cole in Yemen in 2000, attack on the World Trade Of those who identified themselves as Muslim Centre in New York on 11 September 2001 and the in Queensland in 2006, 28.75% were born in subsequent protracted ‘War on Terror’ (see Deen, Australia, 6% in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 5.29% 2003 and Mubarak, 1996). in Fiji, and 4.91% in Indonesia. Other significant Muslim communities in Australia, like their countries of origin were Afghanistan, Iraq, counterparts in other Western countries, have Pakistan, South Africa, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, faced increased verbal and physical harassment, Malaysia, and Bangladesh. Only 9.5% of mothers which intensified when Australians became direct and 6.3% of fathers were born in Australia. Of the victims of terrorism in Bali on 12 October 2002. 8064 Muslims in Queensland who were in the Eighty Australians died when two night clubs workforce, 53% held full-time jobs; the rest were were bombed (see Deen, 2003; Kabir and Moore, either working part-time or unemployed. In terms 2003; and Saeed 2003). This was followed by the of income, 60% of those who declared their 7 July 2005 London bombings, arrest of alleged income earned less that $599 per week, which falls Muslim terrorists in Sydney and Melbourne on the lower end of the income scale. While this during November 2005, and anti-Lebanese riots paper makes certain generalizations about in Cronulla during December 2005. In the Muslims, it should be noted that they are diverse perception of many Muslims, 9/11 was a in terms of class, nationality, and ethnicity, and watershed event in terms of their relationship with whether they came as skilled migrants or as mainstream Australian society. According to A.A.: refugees with little or few skills to offer. Their “One of the issues [facing youth] would adjustment and needs and experiences are include marginalization from mainstream consequently very different. Australians after 9/11. There has been a strong sense of “us” and “them”. The Muslim youth are 9/11 AND THE EMERGING very aware of the fact that they are seen as IDENTITY CRISIS different in every aspect of life, from primary school to secondary school, and tertiary Islam is not a new religion in Australia. The institutions. Prior to that I would say I generally Macassarese visited the north coast on fishing felt comfortable within mainstream Australia, if expeditions as early as the seventeenth century I may use that terminology for the broader (MacKnight, 1976). Afghan Muslim camel riders community. However, after September 11, I think arrived from the mid-nineteenth century to carry that the media played a significant role, also supplies into the interior to keep remote our parliamentarians and people in influential settlements alive (Kabir, 1998: 57-137). The positions had a significant role in creating a GOOLAM VAHED 37 biased opinion towards Muslims as Islam was confused as to where their roots belong. They linked to terrorism and terrorist acts and come from ethnic backgrounds to Australia. They violence.” are unaware of exactly where they stand because A.J., who migrated to Australia in 1988, also of this focus on being Australian, and having identified 9/11 as a key moment: Australian values which are unclear.’ Mainstream “Pre-9/11, my neighbour didn’t even know I pressure to conform denies young Muslims the was a Muslim. We as Muslims kept our religion time and space to work out their identities. One is to ourselves. We kept it in our pocket. We did not reminded here of Asad’s point that while share our Islamic values with our neighbours. Westerners often ask whether Muslims can adjust Suddenly 9/11 happened and then my neighbour to new conditions, ‘the question is rarely raised would say “Hey, his name is Abdul Jalal, he’s a as to whether the institutions and ideologies of Muslim.” And then suddenly there was this the West can adjust to a modern world of which awakening.
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