The Politics of Anti-Islamophobia in Australia

This book provides an in-depth analysis of how Muslim Community Organisations (MCOs) in Australia perceived and responded to Islamophobia between 2014 and 2018—a period marked by the rise of ISIS, a surge in anti-Muslim political rhetoric, and culminating in the Christchurch terrorist attack on praying Muslims in New Zealand. Grounded in an agency-structure framework, it explores how MCOs navigated systemic power to resist Islamophobia through civic, discursive, and political strategies. Arguing that their agency is both pragmatic and transformative, the book reveals how these organisations operated within and against the constraints of Australian politics.

Building on this analysis, the final chapter reflects on the author's engagement with Muslim organisers to examine how the Australian state's response to the 2023 War on Gaza—marked by its complicity—shook the Muslim community, catalysing new forms of activism that depart from the pre-Christchurch context and may redefine the contours of anti-Islamophobia, Muslim-led advocacy.

This study is essential reading for scholars of Islamophobia, social movements, and Australian politics, offering valuable insights into the intersections of power, resistance, and identity.