The caliph, the imam and the mates

Abstract

Despite the fact that Muslims in Australia are the third largest group, surprisingly, analyses of the role of religion in Australian Muslim communities are rare. Studies of Muslims in Australia focuses either on their settlement needs, such as housing and employment, or examine them as part of the larger group of immigrants from Non-English Speaking Backgrounds (NESBs). In either case, the settlement needs of African Muslims, especially from the Horn and North Africa, have been essentially discussed in terms of their ethnic, rather than religious, origins. These studies, while providing much needed information about African Muslims in Australia, fail to consider the role of religion in identity formation and the differences between first and second generation immigrants. The importance of this thesis is that it considers the importance of the religion in the formation of the members of the focus group's identity and how it affected their integration process. It explores how religious identities can be constructed, maintained and enacted, particularly by second-generation immigrants attempting to reconcile multiple, sometimes conflicting, forms of identity. To understand the role of theology in the identity formation and the integration process of my respondents, this thesis employed three methods: first, an analysis of Islamic theology on the residency of Muslims in non-Islamic societies, using Islamic texts and a number of the most important Islamic websites; second, a textual analysis of a number of Islamic websites; and, finally, an empirical analysis of the views of the first and second generation Muslim North Africans, utilizing focus groups and interviews. The data presented here indicates that the integration patterns of the second generation, either born or brought up in Australia, is different from the first generation group. The first generation seems to be more willing to integrate into, and adapt to, their host community through their attempts to establish friendships and local interactions with neighbours and participating in different national and religious activities. On the other hand, although the second generation is de facto more integrable in the society, because of their language skills and employment rates, they are less happy about cultural integration. This reluctance results from their views of Islam, shaped by two important factors: the way they have been brought up; and their interaction with cyber Islam. The result of the interaction between these two factors is a confusing and multi-layered identity within this generation that has led them to look for a new form of universal identity, different from both their parents and the their host community. It is a religious identity. Obviously, the research results presented in this thesis cannot be generalized to the identity formation process of all Muslim Australians, nor is religion as a declared identity likely to be the final phase of what will continue to be a complex process of identity negotiation and evolution for these young Muslims.