Dangerous Muslim wombs and the fear of replacement: Experiences from Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand

Abstract

The 'white replacement' (sometimes called 'white genocide') conspiracy theory has become a key element of contemporary far-right racist ideology. The white supremacist terrorist who committed mass murder at two Christchurch mosques in March 2019 brought his Islamophobia with him from Australia to New Zealand. His online 'manifesto', posted just prior to the massacre, was entitled The Great Replacement, and began with the sentence, 'It's the birth rates' repeated three times. Both Australia and New Zealand are former British white-settler colonies where whiteness remains hegemonic. Both have small Muslim minorities, but have a history of everyday Islamophobia since 9/11, including violence di..