Voices Shaping the


Characteristics of the sample



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Characteristics of the sample


Overall 392 responses to this survey were received, though only 332 were from youth aged


15‐25 years. Of these 332 youth respondents, 165 were aged under 18 and 167 aged between
18 and 25 (see Graph 1). Of those aged under 18, 113 were young women and 51 young men, with one person not responding to the gender question. Of those aged 18‐25, 102 were young women and 65 young men (see Graph 2). Overall, female respondents outnumbered male informants by approxiately two to one, with 65% of repondents who were female and 35% of repondents who were male (see Graph 3). 85% of the 392 respondents are under age 25. The research task was to record the voices of Muslim youth and the voices that influenced them. However 57 Muslim repondents aged over 25, also answered the survey. Analysis of the survey results reported in this section are limited to the responses of those aged 15‐25 years.
Graph 1. Age Distribution of Survey Respondents

Graph 2. Respondent Age Groups of Under‐18 and Between 18 and 25


NB One respondent under 18 did not respond to this gender question.


Graph 3. Gender of Respondents






Frequency


Percent


Valid N/A

Male Female Total



1

116


215

332


0.3%







34.9%







64.8%







100.0

Note: The results above are reported to one decimal place otherwise the bar chart wouldn’t

show N/A category properly. Of course the small sample size does not otherwise make such fine

distinctions valid.

One of the key points for this research project is that there is great diversity within Australia’s young Muslims. This diversity relates to ethnicity, birthplace, language and culture. Hence central to the research methodology was the need to draw on respondents who reflected this diversity. The survey centred on Muslim youth living in Sydney. Most of Sydney’s Muslim communities live in the western and south‐western suburbs. As Graph 4 shows, respondents lived across this region, in a geographical area stretching from Randwick, Malabar and Sutherland in the east, across to Campbelltown in the south, and Penrith in the west, and Riverstone in the north.
Graph 4.Place of Residence of Respondents


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okes Shaping the Perspectives of Vouog Muslim Australians


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The majority (three in four or 73% of the respondents aged 15‐25 years) were born in Australia, as Graph 5 shows. The next highest birthplaces of respondents were Iraq (27 respondents), Pakistan (22 respondents) and Lebanon (20 respondents) with respondents also drawn from another 26 birthplaces. Moreover, the overwhelming majority (94%) of respondents were Australian citizens (see Graph 6).
Graph 5. Country of Birth of Respondents




Number of respondents
Graph 6. Australia Citizenship of Survey Respondents by Gender


Another way to represent the diversity of the Muslim youth surveyed is to group them into regional areas. Graph 7 shows that most of the one third of non‐Australian‐born respondents were born in the Middle East and Northern Africa (17%) or in Asia (15%). Please note that respondents born in the Sub‐Saharan Africa, East Europe, North America, Oceania, South America etc, together add up to 4%. ass the ‘less than 1%’ together add up to 2%.
Graph 7. Region of Birth of Respondents

Another dimension of the diversity of the young Muslim respondents relates to linguistic diversity. Because the survey took place in Sydney, the settlement destination of most of Australia’s Lebanese and other Middle Eastern immigrants, it is over‐represented with Arabic speakers. Graph 8 shows the main languages that respondents spoke at home (multiple answers were accepted). Just over half (53%) spoke English at home and nearly (45%) spoke Arabic at home. Other languages spoken at home by respondents include Bengali, Indonesian, Malaysian, Thai, Lao, Burmese, Pashto, Turkish, Kurdish, Punjabi, Khmer, Persian, Dari, and Farsi. And as Graph 9 shows, nearly half only speak a language other than English at home. The remainder is split equally between those that only speak English at home (26%) and those who speak more than one language at home (26%). Please note that the figures of 1% for Sub‐Saharan Africa, East Europe, North America, Oceania, South America and n/a, have been rounded up and jointly equal

4%.
Graph 8. Main Language Spoken at Home by Respondents

Graph 9. Language/s spoken at home to parents




Knowledge and fluency in English is a key factor influencing the lives of immigrants in English‐ speaking immigration nations like Australia. As Graph 10 shows, the majority of those surveyed indicated that they can read, understand and speak English well. Of respondents in the age group under 18, 56% reported that they can understand and speak English quite well, 32% can read well, and 21% reported that they can write well. In the 18 and 25 years age group, 56% of respondents indicated they understand and speak English quite well. Please note that some respondents gave multiple answers.


Graph 10. Respondents’ Ability and Facility with English Language by Age Groups (%)

Can understand & speak quite well


Graph 11 depicts the current occupation of the young Muslim Australians surveyed. Three quarters (75%) were attending high school. This is because one of our most effective sources of recruiting respondents (in addition to the Sydney Eid Festival) was Muslim schools in Sydney. 16% of respondents were attending college or university, about 15% were employed and

9% unemployed.

Graph 11. Current Occupation of Respondents.






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