ABSTRACT
Theoretical discussions about the meaning and usage of Islamophobia are plagued by debates about the appropriate definitional, conceptual and epistemological approach. This chapter focuses on Islamophobia and is largely confined to 'the Muslim' in racial Australianization. It deals with an overview of the Muslim presence in Australia. The chapter also outlines the political constructions of 'Australian values' during the Howard era in order to situate and theorize the origins of enduring debates on 'values'. Pugliese's critical examination of how Southern European races were considered degenerate in a wider history that invoked the Moors' invasion into Southern Europe speaks to the legacy and enduring impact of Europe's encounter with Muslims on 'whiteness' as imagined and constructed in Australia. Using the concept of Team Australia as a terror prevention strategy deployed the discourse of nationalism and Australian identity as a coded discussion of who belongs and who does not.
