Religious Violence in the Suburbs: The Case of Sri Mandir in Auburn

Abstract

The Sri Mandir Hindu Temple in Auburn, Sydney was fired upon in March 2011. Local community and religious leaders presented the incident as devoid of ethnic or religious motivation. However, a documentary analysis of publicly available secondary sources suggests that the incident sits within a context of conflict between the local Indian and Middle Eastern Australian communities. There have been overt tensions in the area over planning and infrastructure issues, and interethnic prejudices may be held by some community members. Ethnicities are social constructions, and multiculturalist policies allow for and even demand the creation of these public ethnicities, which can then come into conflict. Competition over scarce resources is a widely theorised motivator for this kind of violent behaviour. Competition over public space, socioeconomic status, and religious zoning are suggested as reasons why violent tensions may exist between Indian and Middle Eastern Australians in southwest Sydney.