‘Islamophobia’, Australian anti-discrimination law, and ‘New Racism’ theory

In 1997, the Runnymede Trust report spoke of how ‘Islamophobia’ -- the shorthand way of referring to the dread or hatred of Islam and thus the fear or dislike of Muslims -- was necessitated by a new phenomenon that needed naming. Yet despite the term's common usage, it remains questionable whether the debates concerning ‘Islamophobia’ today and the way the term is used are any more informed than they were a decade ago. This thesis examines the continuing difficulty of coming to grips with anti-Muslim prejudice through an examination of how Australian anti-discrimination laws categorize Muslims as a group and fail to protect them from discrimination. Muslims as a minority group are typically classified in one of three ways in Australian anti-discrimination laws: as a religious, ethnic, or ethno-religious group. The thesis argues that these classifications prove inadequate in offering legal protection for Muslims and in combating anti-Muslim intolerance. The thesis argues that as the definition of what constitutes racism and discrimination have evolved, so should anti-discrimination policies. A new category of group protection that is in keeping with the recent literature on ‘cultural’ racism is thus proposed. On this approach, legal protection against discrimination is accorded to all groups of religious, ethnic and ethno-religious background. A broad definition and classification of Muslim identity will assist in the legal protection of Muslims residing in Australia, and may be helpful as a model elsewhere