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Cultural, Religious and Political Contestations pp 91–105Cite as

Between Rhetoric and Reality: Shari’a and the Shift Towards Neoliberal Multiculturalism in Australia

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Abstract

This chapter explores the schism in Australian multiculturalism between explicit and publically-stated rejection of Islamic law as it relates to the personal domain on the one hand, and the embracing and promotion of Islamic finance as opening an avenue to prosperity on the other. We argue that this schism aligns closely with the functioning of neoliberal multiculturalism; where the cultural dimension of ethnicity, or in this case, faith, is only so valuable in the political arena as the tangible economic benefits it can offer. The chapter therefore seeks to explore the key concept of neoliberal multiculturalism as a way of better understanding contemporary Australian multicultural policies.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Arts and Education, Australian Catholic University, Banyo, Australia

    Joshua M. Roose

  2. Religion and Society Research Centre, University of Western Sydney, Parramatta, Australia

    Adam Possamai

Authors
  1. Joshua M. Roose
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  2. Adam Possamai
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joshua M. Roose .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Alfred Deakin Institute For Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Fethi Mansouri

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Roose, J.M., Possamai, A. (2015). Between Rhetoric and Reality: Shari’a and the Shift Towards Neoliberal Multiculturalism in Australia. In: Mansouri, F. (eds) Cultural, Religious and Political Contestations. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16003-0_6

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