Islam in Australia is a minority religious group.While the Australian Muslim community is defined largely by religious belonging, the Muslim community is fragmented racially, ethnically, culturally and linguistically. Members of the Australian Muslim community thus also espouse parallel non-religious ethnic identities with related non-Muslim counterparts, either within Australia or abroad.

1. A C A S E S T U D Y B Y H A S A N M O H A M M A D
Sydney’s Muslim Community

2. Introduction- Who are the Muslims?
Australia is a multicultural melting pot of 23
million people. A collection of over 300 spoken
dialects and languages as well as countless
ancestries and international heritages.
Likewise, the Islamic faith is a vast aggregation
of people from a range of backgrounds and
ethnicities. It is the second largest Abrahamic
religion with 1.5 billion adherents of which 70%
are non-Arab.
Muslims are monotheistic, meaning they
worship one God. They engage in fasting, prayer
and occasionally participate in pilgrimage.
The holy text of Islam is the Qur'an, believed to
be the literal word of God as revealed to
Muhammad, considered by Muslims as his final
apostle and messenger.
This is their story…

3. A Brief History
Contrary to popular belief, the migration of
Muslims to the Australian continent
predates that of the European settlers. Since
the 16th and 17th centuries, the Macassan
traders of Indonesia made early contact and
engagement with the indigenous of WA, NT
and QLD.
From the 1830s onwards, we saw the
incoming of Muslim Afghan cameleers,
Albanian war refugees, south east Asian
students as well as Bosnian and Kosovo
immigrants in the 1960s.
In the 1970s and 80s, the Australian
Federation of Islamic Councils was founded
along with Nour Al-Houda, King Khalid and
Al-Noori Schools, the first Islamic schools in
Australia.
Today, Sydney’s Muslims are among the
largest minority groups.

4. Population and Demographics
According to the Bureau of Statistics, Muslims
represent 2% of the national population
(around 350,000 people). 40% of which were
born in Australia and 50% of which are under
the age of 30, making it one of the youngest
faiths.
The indigenous Muslim population is just over
1000 strong. And Sydney’s Muslim community
is predominantly distributed across the western
suburbs.
As of 2006, NSW represented 49.6% of
Australia’s Muslim population, followed by
Victoria at 32.1%, Western Australia at 7.1%,
Queensland at 6%, South Australia with 3.1%,
Tasmania with 0.3% and the territories
totalling 1.6%.
The top ‘birds eye view’ is that of Sydney while
the bottom is Melbourne. Showing Muslim
populations as dots in each relevant region.
(The larger the dot the higher the density)

5. Sydney’s Muslims Today
Australian Muslims come from all walks of life.
People like writer Randa Abdel Fattah, former
footballer Hazem El-Masri and mayor Ned
Mannoun are prominent Muslims and all are well
known members of the community.

6. Factors Promoting Change
Change is an ordinary part of any community.
With the test of time, politics, social climates
and modernisation; change is inevitable.
Sydney’s Muslim community is no exception.
The factors catalysing this change are many
and especially surround the young and
youthful members of the community. Muslim
youth frequently indulge in western delights
such as the latest fashion, trends and music as
well as social media and other outlets.
The elders of the community are promoting
change with the establishment of additional
centres for Islamic education and the public
understanding of religion. Such a change has
been ignited by the prevalent negativity
towards Muslims.
And above all, recent increases in the Muslim
population are being triggered by conflicts
abroad such as Syria, Afghanistan and Burma;
where refugees seek refuge in government
programs and initiatives.

7. Challenges to Overcome
The main challenges facing the Sydney Muslim
community are threefold. (1) The unprecedented
rise in extremism,(2) Divisions and denominations
and (3) Unemployment.
The rise in extremism is a challenge to overcome
given its generation of prejudice and
discrimination by non-Muslims towards the tenets
of the faith and its adherents. This creates
misconceptions that tear deep into the stability
and relationships between communities;
interfering with dialogue and discussion.
The plethora of denominations and divisions of
Islamic schools of thought divides the Sunnis (90%
of Muslims) and Shiites (10% of Muslims) as well
as minorities like Sufis and Alawites. These
theological divisions cause hatred and violence
especially regarding political topics such as the
Syrian conflict and Islamic jurisprudence.
Unemployment is problematic with just 5% of
Muslims earning over $1000 weekly, in
comparison to the national average of 11%.

8. References 1 (Primary Sources)
The following were visited/emailed for information:
1. Ahlul Sunnah Wal Jammah (132 Haldon Street, Lakemba, New South
Wales, 2195 ) Phone: 02 9758 3406
2. Imam Hussein Islamic Centre (Lang Road
Earlwood NSW 2206) Phone: 02 9558 1114
3. Al -Rahman Mosque (20 Garema Circuit Kingsgrove,2208) Phone: 02
9758-9977
4. Al- Zahra Mosque (9 Martin Ave, Arncliffe NSW 2205) Phone: 02 9597
6690
5. Al Emaan Muslim Association
http://www.alemaan.net/public/index.php?view=contactus&mid=16&cid=0

9. References 2 (Secondary Sources)
World Wide Web:
http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/multicultural/pdf_doc/australia
n-journey-muslim-communities.pdf (01/06/13)
http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/multicultural/pdf_doc/Muslims
_in_Australia_snapshot.pdf (31/05/13)
http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parli
amentary_Library/Publications_Archive/archive/MuslimAustralians
(30/05/13)
http://www.2mfm.org/content/view/123/57/ (02/06/13)
http://www.lma.org.au/ (01/06/13)
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/14467374/middle-east-in-
the-suburbs/ (30/05/13)
Books/Publications:
Muslims in Australia (Studies in Anthropology, Economy and Society), Nahid
Afrose Kabir, Routlege Publishers, 2005
Islam in Australia, Abdullah Saeed, Allen and Unwin Press, 2001