Political Participation of Muslims in Australia

POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF MUSLIMS IN AUSTRALIA Final Report June 2010 Prepared by: Kais Al‐Momani Nour Dados Marion Maddox Amanda Wise Centre for Research on Social Inclusion Macquarie University TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................................................2 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................................3 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................4 Chapter 1: Aims, Research Questions & Methodology ..........................................................................................8 Chapter 2: Political Participation & Muslims in Australia.....................................................................................12 Chapter 3: Literature Review................................................................................................................................28 Chapter 4: Opportunities and Barriers .................................................................................................................35 Chapter 5: Tackling The Problem..........................................................................................................................50 Chapter 6: Australian And International Case Studies..........................................................................................69 Chapter 7: Summary of Key Findings....................................................................................................................99 Chapter 8: Recommendations............................................................................................................................102 Appendix One: Audit of Initiatives......................................................................................................................109 Appendix Two : Profiles of Selected Political & Academic Commentators ........................................................142 Appendix Three: List of Interviewees (de‐identified) .........................................................................................155 Appendix Four: Interview Questions..................................................................................................................157 Appendix Five: References .................................................................................................................................160 2 | Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The research for this report was undertaken by Kais Al‐Momani, Nour Dados, Marion Maddox, and Amanda Wise. All authors are researchers in the Centre for Research on Social Inclusion at Macquarie University. Lead Researchers, Marion Maddox and Amanda Wise, wish to thank Nour and Kais for their excellent work on the project, especially in recruiting participants and conducting interviews for this study. We also thank Lillian He at Access Macquarie for her efficient assistance with project, budget and contract management. The report authors wish to thank all those who generously gave up their time to be interviewed for this project. Thanks also to the Australian Electoral Commission for providing data on patterns of informal voting in culturally and linguistically diverse communities. We also thank Anna Hassett and Matthew Jones from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship for their assistance during the course of the project, and DIAC for providing funding to undertake the research. 3 | Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY DIAC commissioned Macquarie University’s Centre for Research on Social Inclusion to investigate the extent to which Australian Muslims participate in the nation’s politics, and to recommend strategies to enhance their participation. We conducted a literature review and interviews with politically active Muslims. We also conducted focus groups with Muslims who were not politically active, recruited through community organisations. Further, we analysed successful Australian and overseas initiatives which have facilitated increased political participation by Muslims. According to the 2006 Census, 1.7% of Australians identify as Muslim. The majority live in NSW and Victoria. At the time of the research, Australia’s federal Parliament had no known Muslim Member or Senator, and none was known to have served since Federation. The State Parliaments of Victoria and NSW each had one self‐identified Muslim. Muslims were better represented in local government, particularly (although not exclusively) in local government areas with high Muslim population. Muslims represented all major parties, with a particular concentration in the Australian Labor Party and the Greens. None of our interviewees reported having experienced religious discrimination hindering their efforts to become politically active, although some found the machinations of party politics incompatible with their faith. Those elected to office universally rejected any suggestion that they represented a specifically Muslim constituency. All emphasised that they represented all their constituents, regardless of religion, and that they were careful to make all political decisions on their merits. Historically, Australian Muslims have tended to voted Labor. The vast majority of Australian Muslims are first‐ or second‐generation migrants, and this Labor preference reflects that of many post‐war migrant groups. Our research suggests a possible shift among younger Muslim voters to the Greens. Further research would be needed to verify this trend. Rather than specifically religion‐based barriers to political participation, our subjects, both in interviews and focus groups, reported barriers related to ethnicity, English acquisition, income and time since settlement. Electorates with the highest proportions of recent migrants register the highest levels of informal and donkey voting. No evidence allows us to say whether these practices are more common among members of any particular religious or ethnic group. Circumstances in the home country were a significant factor in Muslim migrants’ political participation. Those who had lived in Australia for a long time or had come from countries with a robust democratic culture were more ready to participate than recent arrivals or those who had come from situations of repression. Women from backgrounds emphasising traditional gender roles found it harder to participate than Australian‐born converts and those whose cultural traditions encouraged women’s participation. Growing up in an environment where politics was regularly discussed also helped. Several migrant women who are politically active cited their mothers’ and other female relatives’ examples as inspiration for their own activism. We conducted an audit of participation‐enhancing programs in Australia and overseas, including more detailed case studies of four Australian and three UK initiatives. These programs encouraged not only running for office but also other forms of political participation, such as community organisation, mentoring, participation in youth activities (eg Youth Parliament), and making their views heard in the media. Interviewees were divided over whether such initiatives work best when they are directly targeted at Muslims, or when they are available to a broader audience such as immigrants. A very common sentiment was that Muslim‐specific programs run by government, even when intended to benefit Muslim communities, can contribute to a sense of alienation, and the feeling that government regards Muslims as particularly prone to deficits or in need of surveillance. Several pointed to successful programs, such as those run by Victorian Arab 4 | Page Social Service, in which Muslims are well, but not exclusively, represented. Muslim‐specific programs were much more likely to succeed when they were seen as community‐driven, rather than government‐initiated. Programs which are not Muslim‐specific need nevertheless to ensure Muslim participants’ needs are taken into consideration, for example through provision of halal food and freedom to pray at the appropriate times. Mentoring emerged as an extremely important aspect of successful programs. Some politically active subjects had been mentored by other Muslims; some argued that the mentor’s religion is insignificant. Participants in these various programs reported particular satisfaction with components that enabled them to meet political actors such as politicians, newspaper editors and journalists. These encounters enabled participants to express frustration, for example over media misrepresentation of Muslims. They also enabled participants to imagine themselves in similar roles. Several of our interviewees noted the need for better political literacy not only among migrants but also among Australians of long‐standing. We note similarities between some of the most successful leadership‐ style programs and aspects of the Civics and Citizenship program taught in schools through the Discovering Democracy units. 1. Consultations aimed at increasing political participation should include not only ‘official’ community leaders representing main community and religious peak bodies, but also ensure a diversity of voices – in terms of gender, ethnicity, generation, geography. An example is the Muslim Community Reference Group: although its context and concept were controversial,

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