Nationalist groups and politicians frequently use the concept of what they term encroaching "sharia law" to argue against Muslim immigration to Australia.
But sharia is actually a complex and much-debated set of rules that has been highly politicised and much misunderstood.
It is the go-to scare tactic used by many anti-Islam groups: Muslims are going to take over and impose "sharia law" on Australia.
But those closer to the subject say everything about that statement is wrong, including the term "sharia law."
Dr Ghena Krayem is a senior lecturer at the Sydney Law School.
She says sharia is not actually law at all, but a much broader set of guidelines for how Muslims should live their lives.
"For example, the way in which Muslims pray, the way in which Muslims eat, the way in which they engage with their relationships, their neighbours, their family, the way in which they wash themselves. All of these things that are really the totality of a Muslim's life come within the bounds of sharia. And one small part of it relates to some of the common things we would associate with the legal system."
Dr Krayem says sharia is very dynamic and is interpreted in different ways in different cultural contexts.
"On the one hand, people can think, 'That's just so difficult to grasp then.' But on the other hand, it also enables one to find the practice of faith that they are comfortable in, that fits within their context, and that's why we can talk about the emergence of an Australian Muslim identity, because I think we're starting to see that."
Adam Possamai is a professor of sociology of religion at Western Sydney University.
He has studied how Muslims practise sharia in Australia.
"In the interviews that were conducted as part of the research that I did as part of a group, we realised that the informers that revealed to us the way they lived their everyday lives were complying perfectly well with the Australian way of living. They were all happy with the Australian laws, thinking that the Australian laws are very open for them to express their religion."
Australia Muslim Women's Association president Silma Ihram says following sharia does not mean Muslims will not follow the laws of the country where they live.
"You have to, according to sharia, respect the law of the land. You can't interpret the law to suit yourself."
Professor Possamai says the Muslims he studied reported there were few differences between Australian law and the legal aspects of sharia.
"The thing as well is that some people will tend to homogenise sharia and focus on some cases that happened in parts of the world and are criminal law. The people that took part in that research don't want to deal with the criminal law. They're happy with the criminal law in Australia definitely, and they're happy with the Australian law."
Ghena Krayem says the main legal aspect in which Muslims turn to sharia principles is family law.
"What the research has found is that, for the majority of Muslims, regardless of levels of religiosity, when it comes to matters of marriage and divorce, they'll come back into the community, they will consult with religious leaders on these issues. So it is in that realm in which there are aspects of Islamic legal principles, or Islamic norms, that come into play in the everyday lives of Muslims."
Dr Krayem says, outside of family law, Muslims and their leaders are not interested in changing Australian laws.
The treatment of women is one of the frequently quoted concerns about sharia and its place in the modern world.
Dr Krayem says, given some of the practices taking place in the name of Islam overseas, she can understand why people believe sharia oppresses women.
"There may be practices that are being done in the name of Islam that are contrary to Islamic principles in regards to women, and we must call them out, but we must also remember not to just lump everything in and blame Islam for everything. Rather, we should be able to identify what are the forces in play, what's actually causing the oppression of women."
Other misconceptions about sharia include claims halal-food certification, signifying food has been prepared the right way for Muslim consumption, will lead to "sharia law" in Australia.
Silma Ihram refutes the whole idea, saying halal certification is simply the law recognising the needs of the Muslim community.
"The fact that we have halal food is not part of this overarching 'we're taking over society' kind of thing, because disabled people have been able to make changes to the law, the gay community's been able to make changes to the law, because the law in every country is meant to reflect the needs of its community. It doesn't mean to say that it can impose their needs on everybody else."
Both Dr Krayem and Professor Possamai say more open discussion is needed in the community to educate Australians about sharia.
And they say more discussion is needed to explore ways sharia principles could benefit the country.
"One of the things I'm quite passionate about is that we're not here to set up any parallel legal system. We're actually here to work together within the one existing framework," says Dr Krayem.
"What needs to be done is to have a stronger dialogue in the public sphere in Australia for us to understand what it means to be religious in Australia," Professor Possamai says. "And, here, I'm speaking not just about Muslims, but there are other religions as well in Australia that we need to understand. And by being able to have a constructive dialogue and understand the needs of others that do not go against the Australian system, we can work better as Australia being a multi-faith, multicultural society."
