- Title
- Mosques and Islamic centres in Sydney, representations of Islam and multiculturalism
- Creator
- Dunn, Kevin M.
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 1990
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Islamic groups in Sydney were frustrated in their attempts to construct mosques and Islamic centres. The opposition to mosques came from residents, from local Councillors, and from Council officers. The discourses of opposition to mosques drew heavily upon a limited set of stereotypes of Islam and of Muslims. These stereotypes circulate in international news media, and versions of them were applied in the local disputes over mosque developments. Muslin groups have attempted to diffuse the power of these stereotypes by deploying their own counter constructions. In local disputes over places of worship the various constructions have been fundamental, demonstrating the importance in geography of representation. Competing ideologies of nationalism are also present within mosque debates. Muslims and their supporters have drawn heavily upon the rhetoric of multiculturalism, and other civil rights discourses, in order to confront local calls for assimilation and assertions of White or Christian Australia. The local level is a rich site for the analysis of ideologies of nationalism, senses of belonging, and constructions of identity. It is a neglected level of analysis and requires more critical assessment, particularly of the tactics and the symbolism deployed. More policy attention is required on how to assist local groups who are facing exclusions, such as Muslims. Local politics are the politics of engagement, whereas prescriptions for structural transformation are utopian politics.
- Subject
- mosques; Islamic centres; Sydney; Islam; multiculturalism; Muslims
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1312580
- Identifier
- uon:22433
- Rights
- Copyright 1990 Kevin M. Dunn
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 351 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 8 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |