Two-thirds of Australians living in poorer suburbs are uncomfortable with women wearing burqas, a study shows.
Research by RMIT University found poorer and older Australians are more likely to be biased against Muslims.
The study of people in Broadmeadows and Fawkner, in Melbourne’s north, found high levels of discomfort with burqas, with two-thirds of non-Muslims surveyed expressing concerns about Muslim women wearing face coverings.
Even Muslims were uneasy about burqas, with 28 per cent of them saying they were uncomfortable.
Burqas and niqabs were seen as forms of clothing that ‘precluded inter-ethnic commmunication’, the study of 300 residents in the two disadvantaged suburbs found.
Secular and non-practising Muslims, who reject Sharia law, were critical of ‘militant’ or ‘proselytising’ Muslims, interviews with people in areas with a high Muslim population found.
Associate Professor Val Colic-Peisker said poorer and older people were more likely to be anti-Muslim.
‘Low socio-economic indicators for an area seem to be a stronger predictor of prejudice against Muslims than their visible local presence,’ she said.
‘On the individual level, respondents with lower socio-economic status and older respondents tended to be more Islamophobic, which confirms findings of other Australian and overseas studies.’
The study was done with help from the Islamic Council of Victoria and Moreland City Council.