Prepared by: Kais Al‐Momani Nour Dados Marion Maddox Amanda Wise C
WHY POLITICAL PARTICIPATION MATTERS
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WHY POLITICAL PARTICIPATION MATTERSInternational research demonstrates that active citizenship, including participating in and feeling a sense of ownership of the nation’s political institutions, is crucial to developing and maintaining a sense of belonging and overcoming the alienation and powerlessness which minority communities of experience. In particular, political participation: ƒ Gives the minority community channels through which their concerns and ideas can be raised in the forums best placed to bring about change. Provides formal and semi‐formal means of building bridges with other groups who share similar concerns and ideas, lessening the feeling of isolation. ƒ Enables the majority community to become aware of, and grow to understand, the minority community’s concerns and ideas. ƒ Provides both the minority and wider communities with role models of engagement between the minority and the majority community’s institutions. Muslims endure particular forms of marginalisation which would be helped by increased political participation, over and above the benefits that participation affords the members of any marginalised group. Several recent studies of Australian Muslims have found increased levels of alienation as a result of the negative publicity ensuing from international terrorism, and because of the sense that they are uniquely targeted under Australia’s (and other western countries’) anti‐terror laws. The federal Security Legislation Review Committee’s Sheller Report in 2006 found the legislation had contributed to ‘a considerable increase in fear, a growing sense of alienation from the wider community and an increase in distrust of authority’ among Australian Muslims. On the other hand, the sense of fear and confusion that non‐Muslims sometimes report with respect to their Muslim neighbours (Brett & Moran 2006) might also be alleviated by more visible Muslim participation in mainstream politics. To sum up, we view political participation broadly, comprising a spectrum of activity from voter turnout to formal political representation, with activities such as advocacy and community consultation, community leadership, and opinion making somewhere in between. Each of these modes requires particular skill sets that will, in turn, inform our discussion, later in the report, of obstacles and strategies. Further, individuals sometimes cross all or some of these forms of political participation, and there are a range of personal, social and political circumstances that lead individuals to engage more in one form than another. Directory: sites -> default -> files -> documents -> 01 2014 documents -> Ace abi catair customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements documents -> Mobile audio/video recording systems documents -> The south australian government gazette documents -> All public acts appearing in this gazette are to be considered official, and obeyed as such documents -> Union interparlementaire inter-parliamentary union 01 2014 -> Voices Shaping the 01 2014 -> Muslim Voices – Hopes and aspirations of Muslim Australians Centre for Muslim Minorities & Islam Policy Studies 01 2014 -> Editors: Kerry Download 16.24 Mb. Share with your friends:
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