Youth Identity Formation in the Presence of the ‘Other’: Reflections on Being Young and Muslim in an Interfaith Setting

Abstract

Currently, the social climate of Australian society strongly revolves around the need for youth to identify with and participate in the ‘Australian’ culture and lifestyle. However, Australian society in the twenty-first century heavily consists of a multicultural and multifaith community. While the 2001 September 11 terror attacks and on a more personal level, the 2005 Cronulla riots has led to increased social and religious tension and discomfort within the Australian community, the multicultural and multifaith identity attributed to contemporary Australian society allow the opportunity to take advantage of this distinctive characteristic and create an event called ‘Youth Encounters’, which necessitates natural interaction and communication between the youths of Australia, namely those of the Abrahamic faith – Judaism, Christianity and Islam. This chapter reports on an empirical study designed to evaluate this event as an attempt to counter the tendency for Muslim and non-Muslim youth to fracture in their relationships. The chapter will concentrate especially on the impact on young Muslim women, as reported in the study.