Anti-racist Discourse on Muslims in the Australian Parliament: (72 Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture)

Anti-racist Discourse on Muslims in the Australian Parliament examines anti-racist discourse in contemporary Australian politics, in particular, how politicians contest and challenge racism against a minority group that does not constitute a traditional ‘race’. Using critical discourse analysis, this book firstly deconstructs the racist, xenophobic and discriminatory arguments against Muslims. Secondly, it highlights the anti-racist counter-discourse to these arguments. Since blatantly racist statements are less common nowadays, the book focuses on manifestations of ‘culturalist racism’. It does this by investigating how talk about Muslims positions them as not Australian or as not belonging to Australia – the book takes such ‘discursive exclusion from the nation’ as one of the most widespread forms of ‘culturalist racism’ in Western liberal-democracies. In addition to contributing to the theoretical discussion on the relationship between Muslims, racism and anti-racism, the book expands on methods that apply critical discourse analysis and the discourse-historical approach by providing a practical guide to analysing anti-racist political discourses.

Table of Contents:
1. List of acronyms and abbreviations; 1. List of acronyms and abbreviations; 2. List of tables; 2. Introduction; 3. Part I. Theoretical, historical and methodological context; 3. List of figures; 4. Introduction; 4. Chapter 1. Legal and political context; 5. Chapter 2. History of migration and racism in Australia; 5. Theoretical, historical and methodological context; 6. Legal and political context; 6. Chapter 3. Racism and anti-racism; 7. Part II. Analysis; 7. History of migration and racism in Australia; 8. Chapter 4. Muslims, 'race' and racism; 9. Chapter 5. Discursive positioning of Muslims inside and outside of the 'nation'; 9. Analysis; 10. Muslims, 'race' and racism; 10. Chapter 6. Depictions of Muslims; 11. Chapter 7. Updates since 2007; 11. Discursive positioning of Muslims inside and outside of the 'Nation'; 12. Depictions of Muslims; 12. Chapter 8. Discussion and conclusion; 13. Bibliography; 13. Updates since 2007; 14. Discussion and conclusion; 14. Appendix: Methodology and data; 15. Bibliography; 16. Methodology and data

Review :
Anti-racist Discourse on Muslims in the Australian Parliament is a very important and original contribution to the issue of anti-racist discourse on Muslims. It pays special attention to the Australian situation, but many of its insights go far beyond the geographical focus on Australia. The book’s methodological strength lies in the convincing adaptation and further development of the Discourse Historical Approach, not least by combining it with corpus linguistics methods. The book clearly demonstrates the fluidity of concepts such as ‘race’. It lucidly shows how easily these concepts can be manipulated for political purposes, and how religion and culture can give rise to racism. The book makes a significant contribution to both academic and activist anti-racist discourse. The most notable finding of this book suggests that politicians either lack the desire to find a solution to prevent racism (as continued racist undertones provide a site for applying political pressure), or that the constraints on parliamentary language do not allow for the vocabulary required for such a contest. This book provides an excellent starting point for further investigations into how anti-racists challenge racism; an important area of study in a time where nationalist discourses could be seen as dominating the global political sphere. The ways in which politicians generate and perpetuate racism, but also make arguments in the public sphere supportive of minorities, is of crucial importance, if we are to move towards more inclusive societies. Such discourses have become incredibly powerful in the current media context, leading the tone of public debate more broadly. This book is an important contribution to our understanding of how these arguments are made, particularly the elements of ‘new’ or ‘cultural’ racism and strategies for challenging that racism, that politicians use. It adds to the growing field of discursive analyses of expressions of racism towards Muslims, and perhaps more importantly, anti-racism strategies. Using the Australian context as a case study, the book offers a comprehensive and fine grained analysis of the relationship between racism and nationalism, exploring what is seen as constituting racism, in the law, and then relating this to the ways in which racism is expressed in political speeches. Too often we focus on the negative, particularly around racism and Islamophobia and the exclusion of Muslims from the nation, ignoring the positive developments in arguments in support of minorities. This highly readable book is therefore a significant corrective and important accomplishment. It offers positive examples of the surprisingly sophisticated defense of Muslim minorities in political speeches. It is thus both timely and illuminating, providing significant insights into how negativity towards Muslims can be, and is being, challenged.