Australian Muslim Subculture and Mainstream Australian Cultures Compared - Assignment Example

Foundations of Society Name Institution Course Date Foundations of Society Introduction Culture is regarded as one of the most powerful thing that influences almost all aspects of human life (Jenks 2004, 3). It influences how people behave, talk, associate, food and values among others. Culture refers to a set of values, norms, beliefs and customs shared by a particular group of people in the society Inglis 2004, 2). The study of culture has become important in the modern world because of globalization and increased migration that has brought people from different backgrounds and cultures together. Australia is one of the most multicultural countries today because of globalization and immigration that has happened over the years as people from all walks of life come to study and live in Australia (Kabir 2007, 62). Accordingly, Australia is now regarded as a society composed of different subcultures living together. Muslims are among the largest subcultures in Australia today. Australia has Muslims who have come from all parts of the world, including Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, Bosnia and Senegal just to name but a few. This essay discusses the notion of culture with reference to Australian Muslim subculture in terms of language, symbols, values, norms, practices and artifacts and compare with Australian mainstream culture. The paper will also discuss how these cultural values and beliefs differ from the mainstream culture. Australian Muslim Subculture and Mainstream Australian Cultures Compared Muslims is one of the largest subcultures in Australia today. The population of Muslims in Australia has been growing exponentially over the years due to increased immigration of Muslims who come to live in Australia (Kabir 2007, 62). Statistics show that, prior to 1981, there were approximately 41,000 Muslims living in Australia and between 1996 and 2000, at least 47,000 Muslims migrated into Australia (Saeed 2004, 5). In the year 2000, approximately 7,533 Muslims migrated to Australia. These statistics confirms how Muslims have become an important subculture in Australia. In fact, in suburbs, such as Dallas in Melbourne, 39% of the population is Muslims. The Australian Muslim subculture have their unique believes, values, norms, artifacts and practices that distinguish them from the mainstream Australian culture. Language Language is one of the most important cultural elements that make a particular culture unique. Australian Muslims speak three main languages that include Arabic, Turkish and English. A study conducted in the country founds that at least 95,000 Muslims living in Australia speak Arabic while about 32,000 speak Turkish and 32,000 using English as their primary language (Saeed 2004, 5). The language used by Australian Muslims differs depending on their places of origin. For example, those Muslims who speak Arabic are those who trace their origin to Arabic world while those speaking Turkish are mainly those from Turkey (Butcher 2008, 373). Comparatively, the mainstream Australians speak mainly English as the dominant language, though there are other traditional languages, such as those of the Aboriginals. Practices, Norms and Values Muslims have certain practices that makes them distinct from the mainstream Australian culture through there are some areas of commonalities. First is Muslim belief and practice as regards abortion. In Islam, abortion is prohibited and no woman is expected to procure an abortion not unless the life of the mother is in danger (Saeed 2004, 30). Nonetheless, because Muslims are divided, in some countries abortion is now being tolerated. In mainstream Australian culture, abortion is more of a legal rather than a cultural issue as it is prohibited by law, though can be done in the event that the life of the mother is in danger, the same way Muslims practice it. Second practice has to do with family planning. In this respect, Muslims have no objection to family planning. In fact, Muslims use a variety of family planning measures. However, Muslims strongly believe in having a large family. Having many children is seen as a form of blessing for couples. Accordingly, Muslims practice polygamy which is allowed as a man can many as many as four wives, though this is a choice as a Muslim can decide to marry just a single wife. In mainstream Australian culture, family planning is a common practice and most Australians plan their family with the aim of ensuring that they have only the right number of children they can manage (Fiske, Hodge and Turner 1987, 18). As such, Australians do not value large families as does the Australian Muslim subculture. Muslims are also distinct with regards to the issue of divorce. In Islam, divorce is discouraged as Muslims see marriage as a long-term commitment to one another. Therefore, in any case a marriage is troubled, couples are expected to seek help and advice from elders and those well placed to give advice. In the event that all attempts to save the marriage fails, divorce is allowed as the last option, though not advocated or encouraged. Additionally, in case couple divorce, it is expected to be done with respect and honor while the rights of the wife is protected under Islamic law. Although divorce is discouraged in Islam, young Australian Muslims have a higher divorce rate than the overall Australian population. Like in Muslim subculture, the mainstream Australian culture also discourages divorce. Nonetheless, couple can divorce officially when the two cannot live together peacefully ((Fiske, Hodge and Turner 1987, 19). Australia’s cultural practice can also be evaluated with regards to their belief on domestic violence. Islam prohibits domestic violence. According to the Islamic teaching, a husband and wife are expected to have mutual relationship, cooperate and love each other (Meehan 2014, 64). Despite the fact that Islam condemns domestic violence, it is a common practice among Australian Muslims as some Muslim men believe that it is justified to beat, hurt or treat their wives badly by citing certain Quran verses that appears to permit battery. Likewise, in mainstream Australian culture, domestic violence is not permitted, though it is common countrywide. Australian Muslims also have a distinct practice when a baby is born. Immediately a child is born, most Muslims cultures require that a ‘call to prayer’ is made in the baby’s right ear while the ‘call to commence prayer’ is made of the left year (Saeed 2004, 33). A naming ceremony is held on the seventh day after birth, which is called `aqiqa during which the child’s hair is shaved. Charities and gifts are given to the less fortunate in the society. Contrastingly, in mainstream Australian culture, when a baby is born, normal prayers are held by family members in celebration of the birth, though there are no cultural practices done as is the case with Australian Muslim subculture, though gifts are commonly given to the family. Muslims also circumcise boys early in their life. However, there is no particular age when circumcision is done. During circumcision, a ceremony is held in the family and food shared. Although there is a widely held belief that girls’ circumcision is permissible in Islam, this is further from the truth because Islam prohibit female cut (Saeed 2004, 33). In any case, those Muslim cultures that practice girls’ circumcision does it against the Islamic teachings. Like Australian Muslim subculture, the majority of Australian mainstream culture practice male circumcision and do not permit female circumcision. Muslims also have a distinct practice whenever one dies. In Islam, when one is about to die, he or she is expected to declare that ‘there is no god but God; Muhammad is the Messenger of God.’ Once the person has died, the body must carefully and respectfully handle. At the same time, burial is expected to be done as soon as possible, usually within 24 hours after death unless there are reasons that might require delay (Saeed 2004, 33). Islam also require that a Muslim be buried in town or city where dead occurred. Unlike in Muslim subculture where those who are about to die are expected to make declarations, in mainstream Australian culture, only prayers are offered to those who are about to die. However, there is commonality in the sense that in both, the body of the dead must be respectfully and carefully handled. Nonetheless, in mainstream Australian culture, the dead are not buried in a hurry the same way Muslims do. Instead, the body of the dead can be preserved in a mortuary for some time as burial arrangement is made and the dead does not necessary have to be buried in the town where they have does as the choice of place of burial is a family affair. Muslims also believe in the existence of One God who created and sustained everything on earth and is commonly referred as Allah, in Arabic (Zevallos 2005, 42). At the same time, Muslims believe in Angles as much as they do not know how the angles look like. Muslims also value prayers which must be done at least five times a day. However, Friday is the main prayer day for most Muslims, where they are expected to attend Mosques. Moreover, fasting forms an important value for Muslims as adults are expected to fast, especially during the month of Ramadan, which is the ninth month of Islamic calendar, which takes 29 and 30 days. Like Australian Muslim subculture, the mainstream Australians are mostly Christians who believe in the existence of One God who created the earth and heaven and all things in it. Artifacts Muslims have great artifacts that make the religion distinct from others. The first artifact is seen with the Holy Quran which has a nice decoration the cover. Quran is a holy book that must be handled with care and respect. The holy book must not be placed on the floor as it is expected to be the highest thing in the room. This implies that the Quran must always be placed on the stand and not left open. The other important artifact for Islam is the prayer mats, which are decorated in different forms and patterns, including floral and generic patterns, as well as pictures of famous mosques. All prayer mats have arch designs which are pointed in the direction of “Mecca” (Meehan 2014, 46). The mats must not have animals or images of people as this is forbidden in Islam. Muslim also has an artifact in the form of the compass. According to Islam, Muslims are expected to face the direction of the Mecca during prayers. Specifically, they are expected to face the sacred cube-shaped shrine called the Ka’bah, which is right at the center of Mecca. The other Muslim artifacts include the Tigiyha and the Subha, which are Muslim prayer beads. On the contrary, there are no special artifacts among the mainstream Australian culture. Symbols Muslims have special symbols that all Muslims faithful are expected to respect and adore. The crescent moon and star are special symbols in Islam as they are used to represent Islam. Additionally, Muslims have an artifact called the Rub el Hizb, which is a symbol, made of two overlapping squares and "Allah" in Arabic (Meehan 2014, 54). In Australian mainstream culture, however, there are no special cultural symbols. Impact of Australian Muslim Subculture on Mainstream Australian culture Australia is built on strong values that include a ‘fair go’ and is very open and friendly to visitors from other parts of the world (Saeed 2004, 9). The country also promotes egalitarianism, gender equality, human rights and compassion. The majority of Australians subscribe to these values and considering that Muslims are part of Australia, they are expected to subscribe to these values too. Indeed, analysis shows that Australian Muslim subculture is not challenging the mainstream Australian culture and values, but is instead reinforcing the status quo. The Australian Muslim subculture has no problem embracing the Australian culture and values. In fact, it is believed that a large percentage of Muslims migrated to Australia because of the Australian values and cultures which they admire (Zevallos 2005, 43). From a Muslim viewpoint, Australians are generous, welcoming and accommodating as they accept people from different cultures and backgrounds without discrimination or prejudice. For the majority of Australians, the mainstream Australian values are similar to Islam values and as such Muslims in the country do not see the need to antagonize between their values and religion with that of the mainstream Australia society. The fact that Muslims are reinforcing the status quo is demonstrated by the number of Muslims who speak English in Australia today. As earlier indicated, there are more than 35,000 Australian Muslims who now use English in their day to day communication and this shows that they have embraced the Mainstream Australian culture (Saeed 2004, 5). Nonetheless, there are some aspects of the Australian mainstream culture that Muslims have not embraced. For instance, Muslims have not been able to abandon the Quran for the Bible or Mosque for the church. Additionally, there are a small percentage of Muslims have rejected Australian culture, values and society seeing it as foreign to Islam, thus unacceptable (Busbridge 2013, 462). This proportion of Muslims are of the view that the more Muslims get integrated into the Australian mainstream culture, the less ‘Muslim’ they become. To them, Muslim emphasizes the maintenance of difference between Islam and anything foreign. It is critical to note, however, that these are just a minority segment of Australian Muslims and do not represent the entire Muslim subculture in Australia. Conclusion Culture has an impact on almost every aspect of human life. Australia is one of the most multicultural nations as it is made up of people from different cultures and backgrounds. The Muslims forms an important subculture in Australia today as they make a significant proportion of Australian population. As narrated in the paper, Australian mainstream society and Muslim subculture shares a lot with regards to values and cultures, though there also differences as pertain cultural practices, such as immediate burial of the dead. It has been learned that the majority of Australian Muslims are comfortable with the mainstream Australians culture, which they try to reinforce in a bid to maintain the status quo. Nonetheless, there are a small percentage of Muslim population in the country who are opposed to Australian mainstream culture and values. Works Cited Busbridge, Rachel 2013. “It's Just Your Turn”: Performing Identity and Muslim Australian Popular Culture. Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations, 24(4), 459-477 Butcher, Melissa 2008. “FOB Boys, VCs and Habibs: Using Language to Navigate Difference and Belonging in Culturally Diverse Sydney”, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 34(3): 371-387. Fiske, John. Bob Hodge and Graeme Turner 1987. Myths of Oz: Reading Australian popular culture (Media and popular culture). Sydney: Allen & Unwin. Inglis, Francis 2004. Culture: Key concepts. Cambridge: Polity. Jenks, Chris 2004. Culture: Key Ideas. Florence: Taylor and Francis Kabir, Nahid 2007. “What does it mean to be un-Australian? Views of Australian Muslim students in 2006”, People and Place, 15(1), 62-79. Meehan, Mark W. 2014. Islam, Modernity, and the Liminal Space Between. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Saeed, Abdullah 2004. Muslim Australians: Their beliefs, practices and institutions. Commonwealth Australia, 1-79. http://amf.net.au/library/uploads/files/Religion_Cultural_Diversity_Resource_Manual.pdf Zevallos, Zuleyka 2005. “'It's Like we’re Their Culture': Second-generation Migrant Women Discuss Australian Culture”, People and Place, 13(2), 41-49. Read More