The Burqa Ban, Islamophobia, and the Effects of Racial “Othering” in Australian Political Discourses

Abstract

Racism and “othering” of ethnicities is an enduring feature of Western politics. In Australia, Senator Pauline Hanson is well known for radical conservative political opinions, some of which are regarded by her critics as racist. One of her most notorious anti‐Muslim campaigns came in the form of her support for a burqa ban, with engagement in constant media commentary and a publicity stunt in 2017 in which she wore a burqa into the Federal Senate Chamber. This article analyses the public discourse surrounding Hanson's call for a burqa ban, focusing on Twitter as an online media forum for the sharing and dissemination of political beliefs. In analysing Twitter posts and responses linked to Hanson's Twitter handle referring to #burqaban and related terms between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2018, clear themes depicting orientalism, dualism, and Islamophobia emerge. I argue that the propagation of these political discourses perpetuates a perception of the burqa as epitomising fear of dangerous and harmful mischaracterisations of Australian Muslims. The normalisation and continued utilisation of orientalist, dualist, and Islamophobic themes in political and public discourse, linked with the political profile and positional authority of Pauline Hanson, legitimises calls for impositions on Muslims' religious freedoms, manifesting in debates such as the “burqa ban”.