ABSTRACT
One manifestation of the rise of right-wing nationalist populism in Australia is the collusion of human services professions in casting Muslims, particularly young Muslim men, as a threat to non-Muslim Australians. This chapter argues that social work has betrayed its ethical and value base by developing, providing and promoting government-funded training which encourages the surveillance of Muslims by members of what is claimed to be a caring profession. To illustrate this, we explore the global phenomenon of Countering Violent Extremism programs, including Britain’s ‘Prevent’ program. Our main focus is on the Australian Association of Social Workers’ (AASW) provision of ‘Building Resilience and Preventing Radicalisation of Violent Extremism’ training to over 600 social workers. Despite the rhetoric of neutrality, de-radicalisation programs target, and harm Muslims, and social work is complicit in reinforcing populist notions of dangerous Muslim youth.
