Ordinary Cosmopolitans: Sydney Muslims’ attitudes to diversity

Abstract

ABSTRACTA significant body of research as well as political advocacy outline the difficulties of Muslims living within Western countries. For virtuous reasons this scholarship assumes that Muslims are being prevented from belonging through mechanisms of social exclusion, and, it would follow, are at risk of losing faith in the prospects of harmony and social compact around religious diversity. Yet there is very little evidence that such exclusion generates disaffection and despondency. The emerging scholarship on ‘ordinary cosmopolitanism’ eschews an a priori assumption of exclusion. A survey of 585 Muslims living in Sydney (Australia) derived their attitudes to diversity, racism and national belonging. We critically assessed whether perceived disaffection and incompatibility (non-belonging, radicalisation) were as widespread as public commentaries and some research infers. The results show a very strong level of everyday support for cultural diversity and a rejection of assimilationist impulses, exceeding the average for the general population. This is despite the global Islamophobia attached to terror discourses and to the violent extremism of a minority of Muslims.