The 'race' for Camden : the Camden Islamic school controversy

This dissertation focuses on the 2007-09 controversy surrounding the proposed development of an Islamic school in Camden, a small semi-rural town of Sydney, Australia. It critically examines the resistance that was mounted by local opponents of the proposed school in a xenophobic campaign that was vastly disproportionate to the fairly modest development application. A series of actions and events formed the hostile reception the proposal received. Thousands of residents protested and an Australian flag, a wooden crucifix and two pigs’ heads appeared on the site of the proposed school. Camden Council and the local newspaper received record numbers of letters protesting against the development. Two conservative anti-Muslim groups from outside the local area joined the cause, and several non-local politicians were involved in campaigning against the school. The motivations behind these strong reactions of protest need to be uncovered, particularly in the post 9/11 world whereby the shapes and forms of Islamophobia are increasing and diversifying. Using a number of qualitative methodologies, this investigation into the school saga reveals that several entangled events and discourses were at play that supplied some opponents with ammunition to use against this development. With a proud local history of flourishing white agricultural settlement, a sense of local ownership was flaunted in the face of the proposal. This was tangled with a catalogue of recent moral panics concerning Islam and people of Arab backgrounds that fuelled local Islamophobia against Others. Further, the school was a reminder to locals of the encroaching multicultural suburbia of Sydney’s West, which locals interpreted as the loss of localized rural white Australian life. Drawing on Stuart Hall’s (Jhally 1999) concept of ‘race’ as the floating signifier, this thesis argues that the insidious presence of ‘race’ influences the many diverse positions and narratives of protest against the school. These discourses are situated in two significant contexts. The first is the local Camden context as a semi-rural, largely ‘white town’ which borders many culturally diverse Sydney areas. The second is the broader contemporary Australian context, in which there are increasing levels of social apprehension towards Muslims and Arabs. Critics depicted the school as a catalyst for horrid change in the area, whether it was demographic change brought on by the Other (in the Camden context, the Other refers to Arabs and Muslims), or general devastating change of the landscape (referring to the transformation of a rural and white ‘oasis’ into a culturally diverse suburban area). Through these fears, a number of constructions of ‘race’ are apparent. In analysing these discourses, we are exposed to the distinct relationship between ‘race’, racism and a type of local Islamophobia that is situated in the Camden controversy

The constructions of Sydney’s ‘Muslim ghettoes’

This paper concentrates on various present day constructions of supposed ‘Muslim ghettoes’ within Sydney, Australia. Several Australian anti-Muslim activists usually envision these ‘ghetto’ regions as overpopulated, contaminated slums overrun with ‘un- Australian’ criminals. These racist images surfaced in the recent controversy over a proposed Islamic school in Camden, located in Sydney’s far south-west. Between 2007 and 2009, opponents of the proposal organised anti-Muslim rallies, wrote protest letters to newspapers, distributed several protest leaflets, attracted the support of politicians and even placed severed pigs’ heads on the proposed site with an Australian flag (see Al-Natour 2010). These events of protest collectively make up the Camden Islamic school controversy. While arguing that Muslims have no place in Camden, protestors often contrasted Camden’s rural and white identity with Sydney’s urban and culturally diverse qualities. Opponents referred to Sydney’s ‘Muslim enclaves’ when they forecast Camden’s future with an Islamic school. These constructions of ‘Sydney’s slums’ formed a dystopian imaginary of Camden’s future, drawing on racist imaginative geographies of ‘Muslim ghettos’

'The mouse that dared to roar' : youths and the Camden controversy

In late 2007, a proposal for an Islamic school in Camden, a semi-rural area located in the greater Sydney region, sparked concern among local residents. This paper examines the discourses relating to representations of young people in Camden at that time, as expressed by both young people and adults. It explores the prominent literature on moral panics and includes a brief discussion of the moral panics and controversies surrounding Arab and Muslim youths. It then outlines the events involved in the Camden controversy, and examines the discourses and operations of young people in this controversy

'Where do we start….?': An indigenisation strategy for the university

Many Australian universities seek to “embed Indigenous perspectives” and “incorporate Indigenous knowledges” throughout their programs. These strategies may be linked to university-wide initiatives such as reconciliation plans or equity agendas, or to efforts by individual staff or schools. This paper reports on a project to Indigenise the curriculum at Central Queensland University (CQUniversity), facilitated by the Office of Indigenous Engagement. The authors discuss definitions of Indigenisation within the post-colonial setting where Indigenous epistemologies have traditionally been marginalised. They describe “yarning” as an important strategy for kick-starting Indigenisation, and discuss its application at CQUniversity. The authors then present an emerging conceptual model for CQUniversity’s approach to Indigenisation. They argue that Indigenising approaches need to challenge existing teaching practices, be guided by Indigenisation objectives, and be widely supported by university staff. They place Indigenisation within the larger context of addressing Indigenous disadvantage and normalising Indigenous ways of knowing, learning and teaching

Practice what you preach : creating partnerships and decolonising the social work curriculum

In recent times, Indigenous scholars have recommended transforming the existing social work curriculum in ways that decolonise its dominant Eurocentric foundations. This article is a critical reflection on the work of two non-Indigenous social work educators and our attempts to decolonise our teaching practice at Western Sydney University (WSU). We sought to value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges and expertise, and to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing into our practice. Firstly, we situate our efforts to decolonise our teaching and practice within the Australian historic and contemporary contexts and we then review and reflect on our own struggles and experiences of decolonising the social work curriculum. Al-Natour discusses his decolonisation efforts in teaching Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. Mears explores her efforts to integrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges into her research, engagement and teaching with large cohorts of mostly non-Indigenous students. Our aim in this article is to remind non-Indigenous academics of the central importance of, and the necessity for, decolonisation across the social sciences and particularly, social work, a profession that now supports working towards social justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Further, our purpose is to alert fellow non-Indigenous scholars to practices that we have utilised in valuing and respecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing

Local Islamophobia : the Islamic school controversy in Camden, New South Wales

This chapter focuses on the 2007-09 controversy surrounding the proposed development of an Islamic school in Camden, a town settled by Europeans in the early nineteenth century that is in the process of being absorbed into the low-density sprawl to Sydney’s south west. It describes the resistance that was mounted by local opponents of the proposed school in a xenophobic campaign that was vastly disproportionate to the fairly modest development application 1 . However, this was not simply a local matter. The popular reaction to the school erupted at a time in which contemporary global tensions have undermined official multiculturalism in Australia. The case is symptomatic of wider popular anxieties that alien values and morality are incubating in the space of nation under the ground cover provided by liberal tolerance. The school proposal sparked fierce local opposition and attracted the participation of right-wing nationalist political groups. To school opponents, Camden became a symbol of national traditions under threat from globalization. Pioneering narratives were central to local memory and informed the popular view that the Anglo-Australian Camden ‘community’ had the right to assert territorial claims against Muslim encroachments. Opponents drew on a catalogue of moral panics in recent history concerning Islam and people of Muslim backgrounds in order to gain support for their Islamophobic campaign. Further, the school was represented as a symptom of the spread of multicultural Sydney, and the demise of the bush town. From this perspective Camden was a beleaguered outpost of ‘little Australia’

Great guide to Indigenisation of the curriculum

Indigenisation involves recognising and embedding Indigenous knowledges across the curriculum, developing a greater understanding of Indigenous peoples and cultures, and prepares graduates to work with a wide range of peoples, including Indigenous peoples. The Guide, authored by Dr Ryan Al-Natour, Professor Bronwyn Fredericks, Debbie Bargallie, Associate Professor Henrietta Marrie and Clare Bond will benefit staff and in the long term students, graduates and communities. CQUniversity has repeatedly outlined its commitment to inclusion and the Great Guide to Indigenisation of the Curriculum aligns itself with the University’s values. The Guide includes references to the developing literature base, relevant strategies and examples of practice and a framework for Indigenisation of the Curriculum. It is envisaged that staff will be able to utilise the Guide as a way forward for Indigenising the curriculum within their disciplines. The Great Guide is just one of the outcomes from the Indigenisation of the Curriculum project funded by the Department of Education’s, Higher Education, Participation and Partnership Program (HEPPP) managed first by CQUniversity’s Office of Indigenous Engagement and then by the School of Education and the Arts