Community, mosque and ethnic politics

This paper focuses on the role of religion in organising a Lebanese Muslim community in Sydney. In particular it looks at the role of the mosque and its relationship to other Lebanese and Islamic organisations in Australia. The analysis centres on the issue of mosque leadership and the politics of appointment of Imams. The conflict over mosque leadership has drawn a culturally and politically isolated community into mainstream political and legal processes in Australia and enhanced the position of the mosque as the central community organisation in the Lebanese Sunni community. The paper argues that the study of immigrant politics has tended to ignore the significance of immigrant culture and organisation in the incorporation of immigrants into Australian social and political structures in favour of studying their participation in trade unio