With God on our side: Christianity, whiteness, Islam and otherness in the Australian experience. Issue 6 (1st November 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Stratton, Jon
• Is Part Of: Continuum. Volume 30:Issue 6(2016)
• Page Start: 613
• Page End: 626
• Publication Date: 2016-11-01
• Subjects: Motion pictures -- Australia -- Periodicals; Broadcasting -- Australia -- Periodicals; Mass media -- Periodicals; 306.05
• DOI: 10.1080/10304312.2016.1231789
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1030-4312

Abstract

Abstract: This article discusses the whiteness of Christianity in Australia and the ways that Islam has been constructed as Other. Its starting point is the phrase used by a protestor at a Reclaim Australia event: 'Jesus not Islam'. The article begins with a historical contextualization showing how Christianity became white in Europe from around the early seventeenth century. It then discusses how Islam came to be produced as a fundamental threat to Christianity, the moral order articulated through it, and the civilization built on it. The article argues that recognizing this is a necessary foundation for understanding why Islam has been singled out in Australia and the ways that the 'Australian Muslim' has been constructed.