How Australian Muslims understand, interpret and express Islam

Over the last two decades, a number of surveys have been conducted to capture the views and opinions of Muslims in the West, including North America, Europe and Australia. They have examined religious identity, beliefs, views on social and political issues, as well as experiences of islamophobia and integration. The Islam in Australia study was…

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The motivations of the Christchurch mosque shooter

In the wake of last Friday’s shootings at the Al Noor and Linwood mosques in Christchurch, commentators have sought to understand what drove the alleged perpetrator, 28 year old Australian Brenton Tarrant, to commit such a heinous act of barbarity. Ghassan Hage writes that it is, in large part, the result of ‘white nationalism’, which…

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Christchurch mosque shootings designed to stoke political tensions; reveal extreme ideological fault line

Last Friday much of the world woke to the news of two shootings at two separate mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch. Those shootings left 50 worshippers dead and 40 injured. Of the three men and woman arrested in relation to the shootings, 28 year old Australian man, Brenton Harrison Tarrant, has been…

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Terror attack in Melbourne’s central business district triggers blame-shifting debate about terrorist attacks

On 11 November, Somali-born Hassan Khalif Shire Ali – aged 30 – drove his burning utility vehicle down Bourke Street into the centre of Melbourne’s central business district. Filled with barbecue-style gas cylinders, Shire Ali’s vehicle later exploded near Bourke Street Mall, though police noted that the blast could have been far more deadly had…

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Australian Labor Senator Sam Dastyari Subject of Racist Attack

While frequenting a Melbourne pub on Wednesday 8 November, Australian Labor Party Senator Sam Dastyari was subjected to a racist attack by a number of men claiming to be from the right-wing, nationalist group ‘Patriot Blue’. The attack was filmed by Nick Erikson, a member of ‘Patriot Blue’, who was convicted in 2014 of stalking…

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