Australia : the down-under approach and reaction to shari'a : an impasse in post-secularism?

Through various migration patterns, Muslims in Australia have come from over seventy different nations. Thus they come from various local cultures that have different legal provisions. This makes Muslims the most ethnically diverse religious group in Australia. Some Muslims came from countries where Islam is the religion of the majority, and others from religiously diverse countries. And, of course, we now have a growing population of Muslims born in Australia. Ethnically speaking, this is a religious group that has a wide range of experiences of Australian society, and Muslims in Australia are divided along ethnic and ideological lines.' The shari’a is a devolved law, sensitive to local traditions, and in this sense unlike so-called Roman continental law. Unsurprisingly therefore, the detail of provisions about marriage, marital property, alimony, divorce, inheritance, custody and guardianship of children differs among the different Islamic countries and ethnic groups. The understanding of the practice of shari'a, or parts of it, in a secular society such as Australia, must thus be nuanced, taking into account the multi-ethnic composition of its Muslim community