University life and Australian homes : three case studies of international Muslim students in Brisbane

Despite a significant increase in enrolments of postgraduate international Muslim students within Australian universities, little is known about their perceptions of life within Australian homes while undertaking their studies. The aim of this study is to investigate the ways in which students’ cultural and religious traditions affect their use of domestic spaces within the homes in which they reside. The research found that participants faced some minor difficulties in achieving privacy, maintaining modesty and extending hospitality while able to perform their daily activities in Australian designed homes. The findings suggest that greater research attention needs to be given to the development of Australian home designs that are adaptable to the needs of a multicultural society. Australian society encompasses diverse cultural customs and requirements with respect to home design, and these are yet to be explored.

Privacy, modesty, hospitality, and the design of Muslim homes: A literature review

Traditional Islamic teachings and traditions involve guidelines that have direct applications in the domestic sphere. The principles of privacy, modesty, and hospitality are central to these guidelines; each principle has a significant effect on the design of Muslim homes, as well as on the organization of space and domestic behaviors within each home. This paper reviews literature on the privacy, modesty, and hospitality within Muslim homes. Nineteen publications from 1986 to 2013 were selected and analyzed for content related to the meaning of privacy, modesty, and hospitality in Islam and the design of Muslim homes. Despite the commonly shared guidelines for observing privacy, modesty, and hospitality within each home, Muslims living in different countries are influenced by cultural factors that operate within their country of residence. These factors help to shape the architectural styles and use of space within Muslim homes in different ways. Awareness of the multifactorial nature of the influences on the Muslim perception of home and the use of space is necessary for architects, building designers, engineers, and builders to be properly equipped to meet the needs of clients.

Are Australian homes liveable and adaptable for Muslim families? - Six case studies in Brisbane

This paper investigates how Muslims living in Brisbane live within their current Australian homes and the liveability and adaptability of these homes from the perspective of home dwellers with respect to their Islamic faiths, cultural traditions and lifestyle. A qualitative case study approach was used to gather information about Muslims’ use of domestic spaces through their lived experiences, within an Australian context. Six participants were interviewed, including: a) three Muslim families residing in one suburb of Brisbane, and; b) three international Muslim students living in three different Brisbane suburbs. These cases indicate that apart from minor difficulties, case study participants were able to perform their daily activities within their current homes through various adaptations made to ensure their respective domestic domains provided their families with privacy and a sense of security and safety. Insight gained from these cases suggest the need for more research into the homes of Muslims homes within an Australian context and the development of culturally adaptable housing as a means of meeting the diverse needs of modern Australian multicultural society.

Privacy, modesty, hospitality and the design of Muslim homes in Australia

The home environment is conceptualised in prolific ways within the academic literature. A home is an unparalleled base for human settlement and habitation that embodies a sensorial space that is layered with personal memories and traces of history. The success of a home in providing a strong ‘sense of place’ depends on various factors such as geographical location, monetary funds or personal perceptions. A home too, is an influential medium that allows its dwellers to express, perform and continue their cultural traditions and religious faiths. Traditional Islamic teachings and practices involve guidelines that apply directly to the domestic space. The principles of privacy, modesty and hospitality are paramount to these guidelines and each has a significant influence upon the design of Muslim homes and the home owners’ or dwellers’ domestic behaviours. Despite a significant increase of Muslim population in Australia over the last decade, very little is known about their perceptions of domestic life and their use of domestic spaces within an Australian context. This research investigated on how Muslims in Brisbane live and adapt within their Australian homes and if these homes meet their personal and familial needs to perform their daily activities, as well as maintaining and practising their Islamic faiths and traditions. Specific attention has been given to their perceptions on tripartite principles of privacy, modesty, and hospitality (PMH) and how they achieve these three objectives. A qualitative case study approach was used to investigate six Muslim families living in four Brisbane suburbs, consisting of: a) Case Study 1: three Muslim families residing in one suburb of Brisbane and, b) Case Study 2: three international Muslim students living in three different Brisbane suburbs. This research indicates that apart from minor ‘design-related’ difficulties, case study participants were able to continue to perform their daily activities within their current homes through minor changes to the use of the available interior spaces. Above all, case study participants opined that their current Australian homes provide them with adequate safety and privacy for their families without any major disturbances. Insight gained from these cases suggests that greater research attention needs to be given to the potential development of Australian home designs that are adaptable to the ever-changing needs of the Australian multicultural society. Awareness of the multifactorial nature of the influences on Muslims’ perceptions of home and their use of domestic space is needed if architects, building designers, engineers and builders are to be properly equipped to meet the needs of their Muslim clients.

Shariah perspective on marriage contract and practice in contemporary Muslim societies

Forced marriages are worldwide phenomena and also exist in Pakistani society. It involves the lack of free and full consent of at least one of the parties to a marriage. Mostly, females are victims of forced marriages. It is prevalent in the name of religion in many Muslim countries; however, it is purely a traditional and cultural phenomenon which has nothing to do with religion. Forced marriages are different from arranged marriages in which both parties freely consent to enter into marriage contract and they have no objection on the choice of partner selected by their parents. This study will highlights different forms of forced marriages in Pakistani society.

Guest Editorial: Emerging Scholars' Section

This issue of the QUT Law Review features an Emerging Scholars’ section containing contributions from early career researchers and doctoral students. This section was conceived by the previous General Editor of the journal, Prof Dan Hunter, as a forum to showcase high-quality legal scholarship from emerging scholars. We are grateful to Prof Hunter for his work on this initiative.

Guest Editorial: Emerging Scholars' Section

This issue of the QUT Law Review also features an Emerging Scholars’ section containing contributions from early career researchers and doctoral students. This section was conceived by the previous General Editor of the journal, Prof Dan Hunter, as a forum to showcase high-quality legal scholarship from emerging scholars. We are grateful to Prof Hunter for his work on this initiative.

Aaishah’s choice: Choosing home education in the Muslim community

In Australia, the decision to home educate is becoming increasingly popular (cf. Townsend, 2012). In spite of its increasing popularity, the reasons home education is chosen by Australian families is under-researched (cf. Jackson & Allan, 2010). In addition, the decision to home educate among minority groups, such as Australian Muslim families, is absent from the literature. This paper reports on an interview with one Muslim mother who chose to home educate her children. An in-depth, qualitative interview was conducted with Aaishah (pseudonym), a mother who lived in one of Australia’s most populated cities. Data were analysed using the Discourse Historical Approach to Critical Discourse Analysis. The analysis revealed that there were similarities between the discourses of Christian parents described in the literature, in terms of the reasons Aaishah had given for her decision to home educate. In particular, analysis reveals Aaishah’s fears about schools, their negative experiences on her children and her hopes for her children’s futures.

Making Music, Making Muslims : A Case Study of Islamic Hip Hop and the Discursive Construction of Muslim Identities on the Internet

Hip-hopin juuret juontavat 1970-luvulle Yhdysvaltoihin, mutta hip-hop-kulttuuri ja musiikkityyli ovat sen jälkeen levinneet ympäri maailmaa osana globalisaatiokehitystä. Myös monet nuoret muslimit tekevät nykyään hip-hop-musiikkia, ja yhä useampi tuo myös sanoituksiinsa vaikutteita Islamista ja elämästään muslimina. Musiikin asema on islamissa varsin kiistelty, eikä sitä ole selvästi sallittu (halal) tai kielletty (haram) muslimeilta. Muslimien tekemää hip-hoppia on toistaiseksi tutkittu hyvin vähän. Tutkielmassa tarkastellaan diskurssianalyysin keinoin, miten tapaustutkimuksena toimivalla muslimhiphop.com-internetsivustolla argumentoidaan ja konstruoidaan käsityksiä muslimi-identiteetistä. Teoreettisena ja analyyttisenä viitekehyksenä toimii sosiaalikonstruktivistinen näkemys identiteetistä kontekstisidonnaisena sekä puheessa ja teksteissä diskursiivisesti rakentuvana. Tutkielma kyseenalaistaa aiempien tutkimusten oletuksen hip-hopista vaikutuksiltaan yksinomaan positiivisena muslimi-identiteetille sekä muslimeja yhdentävänä tekijänä. Aineisto on kerätty edellä mainitulta sivustolta syksyn 2010 ja kevään 2011 aikana, josta analyysiin on rajattu vain itse sivusto ja sen hip-hoppia käsittelevät osiot. Sivusto ja sen perustaja ovat yhdysvaltalaisia, mutta sivustolla esiteltävien artistien tausta on hyvin monikulttuurinen. Moni on myös maahanmuuttajana nykyisessä kotimaassaan. Aineistossa esiintyviä teemoja ja diskursseja eritellään ja analysoidaan tutkielmassa lainauksien avulla. Sivuston periaatteissa ja artistien esillepääsyn kriteereissä määritellään tarkasti asennoituminen Islamin ja musiikin yhdistämiseen: mikäli sanoitukset ja artistit noudattavat Islamin oppeja, on muslimin sallittua tehdä ja kuunnella tällaista musiikkia. Islam-aiheisen hip-hopin perustellaan olevan ennen kaikkea vaihtoehto valtavirran hip-hopille, jota konstruoidaan aineistossa moraalisesti arveluttavaksi. Hip-hopille sekä muslimeille sallittuja ja kiellettyjä elementtejä erottelevan halal-haram-diskurssin ohella aineistosta nousee esiin opetusdiskurssi. Muslimien tekemän hip-hopin perustellaan edistävän Islamin opettamista erityisesti nuorille muslimeille ja siten vahvistavan positiivista muslimi-identiteettiä. Myös positiivisen muutoksen diskurssia käytetään aineistossa runsaasti liittyen mm. muslimiyhteisöihin sekä muslimeihin kohdistuviin taloudellisiin ja sosiaalipoliittisiin epäkohtiin ja stereotypioihin; musiikin sisältöä ja sen tekemistä perustellaan sen voimalla muuttaa asioita parempaan suuntaan. Monet muslimiartistit kamppailevat yhdistääkseen toisaalta Islamin ja taiteellisen luovuuden ja ilmaisuvapauden, toisaalta menestyäkseen kaupallisesti unohtamatta uskonnollista vakaumustaan. Monilla heistä hip-hop on ollut vahvasti läsnä kasvuympäristössä, mutta sen yhdistäminen Islamin periaatteisiin aiheuttaa kysymyksiä ja kyseenalaistuksia oman musiikillisen ja uskonnollisen identiteetin muodosta ja sisällöstä. Aineiston perusteella monet muslimiartistit ja Islam-aiheista hip-hoppia kuuntelevat muslimit joutuvat jatkuvasti puolustamaan musiikkia siihen kielteisesti suhtautuville muslimeille sekä ei-muslimeille, jotka vierastavat sen uskonnollisuutta. Muslimi-identiteettiä neuvotellaan jatkuvasti, ja se näyttäytyy aineistossa moniulotteisena ja tilanteisesti rakentuvana. Avainsanat: Muslimit, Islam, hip-hop, identiteetti, Internet, diskurssi, diskurssianalyysi