Beyond Beliefs (ATOM Study Guide)

In March 2007, 376 people representing Australians from many walks of life met together over three days in Canberra to discuss relations between Muslims and non-Muslims living in Australia.

A one-hour film, Beyond Beliefs (Bryan Mason and Sophie Hyde, 2007), documents the journeys of four of the people who took part and explores how beliefs and attitudes may change through a process of deliberation.

The discussions focused on:

• what it means to be Australian
• what it means to be Muslim Australian
• what it means to be an Australian Muslim
• how Muslim and non-Muslim people live together within Australia
• the role of government in managing racial, religious and cultural relations
• policies on immigration, education and unemployment.

Beyond Beliefs is suitable for middle to senior secondary students (years 912) in the following curriculum areas:

• SOSE/HSIE
• Religion and Society
• Values Education
• Civics and Citizenship
• Psychology
• Philosophy
• English
• Cultural Studies
• Media Studies

The documentary is a fascinating study of how attitudes and values are formed, expressed, tested, modified, confirmed or even changed through a Deliberative Poll. It raises and discusses questions about attitudes to Muslim immigration, whether Muslims are associated with terrorism and a threat to national security and Australias way of life, and why the hijab, or headscarf worn by some Muslim women, is regarded with hostility by some people.

The activities in this guide are designed to engage students in the issues raised by the Deliberative Poll and to help them understand how such a process works as a way of researching and developing informed opinions on this topic.