30 November 2015

Sydney Muslims feel at home despite very high racism exposure, survey finds

Muslims in Sydney are three to five times more likely to experience “very high rates of exposure to racism” compared with Australians in general, a study shows.

But about 97% of the nearly 600 Muslims surveyed said relations between them and non-Muslims were friendly and that they felt “a very strong sense of belonging”, the report’s key author, professor Kevin Dunn, said.

The research, which revealed the workplace to be the most frequent site of anti-Muslim bigotry, was released to coincide with a conference in Sydney examining the links between Islamophobia and violent extremism.

Its keynote speaker, professor John Esposito of Georgetown University in Washington DC, said on Monday prejudice against Muslims played into the hands of extremists. [The Guardian] Read more