Challenging Islamophobia: Towards Social Justice & Inclusion
19-21st July 2009
On 19-21st July 2009, a national social cohesion conference on the topic Challenging Islamophobia: Towards Social Justice & Inclusion was held at Sydney University. Sponsors included Affinity Intercultural Foundation, Centre for Research on Social Inclusion, and several universities. The conference explored the theme of how to work towards a socially cohesive society in the context of contemporary realities and challenges.
Plenery panels included the following topics:
Muslim experiences, settling in Australia
Media and its role in public hysteria
Islam, the state and social inclusion
Politics of diversity and the politics of marginalisation
Muslim women: narrated experiences from the margins
Anti-racism: learning from the past, new strategies
From the Uniting Church, there was a presentation from Associate Professor Clive Pearson, Principal of United Theological College and Associate Head of the School of Theology, Charles Sturt University. His paper was entitled “Yours Faithfully: Christ, Cronulla, and the Common Good.” Papers from the conference will be available soon on the website of Affinity Intercultural Foundation.