Media use and community among Turkish Australians

The last two years have seen an increase in the level of public debate around Islam and what it means to be a Muslim. In Australia nearly all of this commentary has been negative in its portrayal of Islam as a religion of extremists, fundamentalists, terrorists, queue jumpers and gang rapists. At the same time, new technologies have opened up the possibilities for strengthening communities of interest online and creating virtual spaces where minority groups can flourish without fear of persecution. Such virtual communities can contribute a sense of identity and belonging to diasporic communities, as well as reinforcing the very existence of such fragmented social groups. What is perhaps unclear thus far, however, is the role that such communities (‘virtual’, ‘imagined’ or ‘transnational’) play in shaping identity and a sense of belonging alongside existing locally based geographic communities. This paper takes a theoretical look at some of the issues involved in attempting to understand the variety of modern communities in a multicultural society.