This course aims to provide students with an overview of Muslims in Australia and will assess the relative importance of such factors as ethnicity, immigration and the legal status on their social and political roles.

It will also allow students to deal with questions of multiculturalism, reinterpreting religious traditions in local contexts, and the negotiation of multiple identities.

In this course students will develop or extend their knowledge and understanding of:

1. some of the key issues in contemporary facing Muslims in Australia and the academic material on them

2. the ways in which specific communities - Turkish and Lebanese, for example, have accommodated to Australian moves and developed community institutions of their own

3. the experiences of Muslim women in a liberal society

4. the variety of experiences that Muslim refugees have had in Australia

5. Australian media representations of Muslim and Islamic issues

6. Governmental responses to Muslim claims and needs and public debates over such issues as the hijab, integration, and religious radicalisation

 1 x 5,000 word major essay         60%

 1 x final 3 hr exam                     40%

With the agreement of the course convener, students may request a variation to the assessment procedure if they are studying from outside Canberra and/or they are in full-time employment and expect especially heavy work obligations during the semester or are likely to have to travel for an extended period for work. Such varied assessment must remain consistent with the College's Guidelines for Word Limits on Assessment (http://cass.anu.edu.au/current-students/rules-and-policies).

Akbarzadeh, S. and A. Saeed (eds.), Muslim Communities in Australia.  Sydney: University of NSW Press, 2001.

Humphrey, M.  ‘Australian Islam, the New Global Terrorism and the Limits of Citizenship' in S. Akbarzadeh and S. Yasmeen (eds.), Islam and the West: Reflections from Australia, Sydney: UNSW Press, 2005, chapter 9.  

Johns, A.H. and A. Saeed.  ‘Muslims in Australia: The Building of a Community', in Y.  Haddad and J.I. Smith (eds.).  Muslim Minorities in the West: Visible and Invisible. Lanham, Maryland: AltaMira Press, 2002, chapter 11.  

Neighbour, Sally.  In the Shadow of Swords.  Sydney: HarperCollins Australia, 2004.