Muslims more disadvantaged

Dewi Cooke

November 18, 2008

AUSTRALIAN Muslims are more socially and economically disadvantaged than their non-Muslim counterparts, despite being, on the whole, better educated and more youthful.

Research to be presented at a Melbourne conference tomorrow shows Australian Muslims have significantly higher rates of high school completion and are also more likely to go to university than are non-Muslims.

But only 15% own their homes compared with 30% of non-Muslims, twice as many live in public housing and unemployment among Muslim youth is double that of non-Muslim Australians.

"One would expect that they should be able to participate in the economic and social life as other educated people are and they are not doing so, and I think that's nothing to do with their religious beliefs," Flinders University sociologist Riaz Hassan said.

"That's something to do with the larger community, whether it's discrimination, or prejudice or exclusion prompted by other factors."

Analysing 2006 census figures, Professor Hassan found that of 340,391 Muslims recorded on census night (1.7% of the population), 38% were born in Australia and the rest born overseas in countries including Lebanon, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Despite their higher rates of high school and tertiary education — 24% of Muslim men and 26% of Muslim women had completed year 12 compared with 15% and 17% of non-Muslim men and women respectively — Professor Hassan found Muslims were not equally represented in well-paying white-collar professions.

However, they had higher rates of work in skilled blue-collar and labouring jobs.

Overall, 52% were in rental accommodation — private or public — more than 20% higher than other Australians.

Average household incomes also tended to be lower and Muslim children were twice as likely to live below the poverty line.

Professor Hassan said the findings were significant because of public concern about religious radicalism. He argued that radicalism was more likely to rise out of socio-economic inequality, negative stereotypes and discrimination.

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