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

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4898988
AutoresSelda Dagistanli (0000-0002-1895-8247, Western Sydney University, autor de correspondencia), 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)
Año2018
Volumen66
Número6
Páginas1258-1275
Fecha de publicación2018-11-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaThe Sociological Review (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0038-0261 • E-ISSN: 1467-954X
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0038026118768133
OpenAlexW2800264092
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas18

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