The limits of multiculturalism in Australia? The Shari'a flogging case of R v. Raad, Fayed, Cifci and Coskun

Bibliographic Data

ID4898988
AuthorsSelda Dagistanli (0000-0002-1895-8247, Western Sydney University, corresponding author), A Possamai (0000-0002-2825-936X, Western Sydney University), B Turner (0000-0001-6378-7144, University of Potsdam), Bryan S Turner (Australian Catholic University, Australia; Potsdam University, Germany), M Voyce (0000-0003-0972-7479, Macquarie University), Joshua M Roose (0000-0002-7689-9652, Australian Catholic University), Joshua Roose (Australian Catholic University)
Year2018
Volume66
Issue6
Pages1258-1275
Publication date2018-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Sociological Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0038-0261 • E-ISSN: 1467-954X
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0038026118768133
OpenAlexW2800264092
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited18

This article focuses on the marginal extremities - the limits - of Shari'a practices in Australia, through the example of a criminal case in which four Sydney-based Muslim men whipped a Muslim convert to punish him for his excessive consumption of drugs and alcohol. The men claimed they acted in line with the doctrines of Shari'a practice to 'purify' or absolve the victim of his sins. While the case was tried before a magistrate in a lower court, it is argued in this article that its social and political significance was wider, reaching into contemporary debates around multiculturalism and immigration from non-western, non-liberal and mainly Muslim nations. Mainstream media and political narratives viewed the whipping as an example of the moral dangers of accommodating Shari'a norms, eliding the differences between peaceable Shari'a and its violent extremities, while situating the case at the limits of multicultural accommodation. This article interrogates the objectionable margins of some cultural practices through this limit case. At the same time it questions the limits or limitations of a multiculturalism that homogeneously views the practices of entire ethnic or religious groups as violent and incommensurable with dominant norms, while using these understandings as a justification for marginalising these groups

Criminology · Immigration · Mainstream · Multiculturalism · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Gender Studies · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Law · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence