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Between 13 November 2020 and 11 February 2021, an online national survey of 2003 Asian Australians was conducted to measure the type and frequency of self-identified Asian Australians' experiences of racism during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey also aimed to gauge the relationships between racist experiences and targets' mental health, wellbeing and sense of belonging. In this paper, we report findings on the type and frequency of online racist experiences and their associations with mental health, wellbeing and belonging. The survey found that 40 per cent of participants experienced racism during the COVID-19 pandemic. Within that group, 66 per cent experienced racism online. The demographic pattern of those most likely to experience online racism were younger age groups, males, those born in Australia, English speakers at home, non-Christians, and migrants who have been in Australia less than 20 years. Analysis also found a strong correlation between Asian Australians' experiences of online racism and poor mental health, wellbeing and belonging. The relationship between experiencing racism, non-belonging and morbidity were more pronounced for those who experienced online racism compared to those who experienced racism in other offline contexts. This points to the corrosive nature of online racism on social cohesion, health and belonging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant body of research as well as political advocacy outline the difficulties of Muslims living within Western countries. For virtuous reasons this scholarship assumes that Muslims are being prevented from belonging through mechanisms of social exclusion, and, it would follow, are at risk of losing faith in the prospects of harmony and social compact around religious diversity. Yet there is very little evidence that such exclusion generates disaffection and despondency. The emerging scholarship on ‘ordinary cosmopolitanism’ eschews an a priori assumption of exclusion. A survey of 585 Muslims living in Sydney (Australia) derived their attitudes to diversity, racism and national belonging. We critically assessed whether perceived disaffection and incompatibility (non-belonging, radicalisation) were as widespread as public commentaries and some research infers. The results show a very strong level of everyday support for cultural diversity and a rejection of assimilationist impulses, exceeding the average for the general population. This is despite the global Islamophobia attached to terror discourses and to the violent extremism of a minority of Muslims. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]