Religious and Socio-Political Studies Journal (RSSJ)
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Book Review: Producing Islam(s) in Canada: On Knowledge, Positionality and Politics
Get PDFThis article provides a comprehensive review of the text, Producing Islam(s) in Canada: On Knowledge, Positionality and Politics, edited by Amelie Barras, Jennifer A. Selby and Melanie Adrian
Persuaded by the Qur’an: Converting to Islam in Canada
Get PDFCanadian Muslim converts/reverts, as the fastest growing convert population in Canada, are shaping the religious landscape and challenging assumptions about Canadian and Canadian Muslim identity. Conversion is a complex phenomenon that affects individuals in all aspects of life. Muslim converts change their beliefs, attitudes, habits, clothing, behaviours, and even their names in some cases – all aspects which Islam, as a comprehensive way of life (deen) touches. Changing their religion not only involves switching personal beliefs and practices, but it also means altering the community they grow in/belong to. Dealing with many transformations in their inner and outer worlds is challenging. Thus, it requires facilitating mechanisms in the Muslim community to reduce the burden on converts by providing channels to learn their new religion of Islam, get them connected with the new community, and walk with them through their journey. This article aids with understanding motivations of Canadian converts coming to Islam, to capture their everyday life experiences, to explore where they struggle most in their conversion, and to understand how Muslim organizations can contribute to combatting those challenges and helping them integrate in the community
Veil Pulling as Orientalist and Colonial Violence: Contemporary Case Studies in Canada
No full textThe veil occupies a significant position within Western discourses as a symbol of Islam and a representation of Muslim women’s perceived oppression. Rooted in historical and contemporary narratives, the veil’s portrayal often intersects with colonial and post-colonial discourses. This paper explores the violent act of veil-pulling, a hate crime involving the forced removal of a Muslim woman’s veil, as an extension of colonial ideologies and racialized oppression. Using the theoretical frameworks of Franz Fanon’s analysis of French-colonized Algeria and Edward Said’s Orientalism, this study investigates the enduring legacy of colonial attitudes toward the veil and their manifestation in modern contexts. The analysis highlights the nuanced connections between the historical practice of unveiling as a colonial tool and the contemporary targeting of veiled Muslim women. Drawing on case studies such as incidents at a Tennessee secondary school, the development of “Hijab Emergency Kits” at Dalhousie University, and occurrences at pro-Palestinian protests, this paper argues that veil-pulling is not merely a random act of aggression, but a deeply embedded act of violence rooted in colonial and racist intentions. This research underscores the need to recognize and address veil-pulling as a systemic issue requiring a critical and informed analysis
‘Standing with Each Other’: Indigenous-Muslim Relation-Making on Turtle Island
Get PDFWithin the context of the northern part of Turtle Island, the space of relationships between Indigenous and Muslim communities is one intertwined within the history and geopolitical realities of settler-colonialism and immigration. This paper is an exploration of the theme of space, and relationship formation from the perspective of Muslim and Indigenous peoples in Canada who have engaged in building relations over the past two decades. This article is based on a wider qualitative semi-structured interview-based research project, supported by content analyses of existing literature and online resources produced by relevant organizations and initiatives. The research analysis has led me to thematically organize these spaces into four general types of spaces: 1) organization-led spaces of relationship building; 2) spaces of conviviality as pathways to relationship building; 3) relational spaces defined through acts of documentation; and 4) spiritually and emotionally bonded spaces that transcend a secular framework. This analysis led to identifying practices of relational meaning-making that form a preliminary understanding of what characterizes Indigenous-Muslim relations on Turtle Island
Canadian Muslim Reactive Identity Formation in the Face of Discrimination: The Possibilities of Imagined Localities
Get PDFThis article looks at the reactive identity formation of Muslim Canadians amidst discrimination and othering. I probe into Canada’s history of colonization and racism and the creation of the multicultural policy and explore how immigrant Muslims have formed their identity in reaction to this. I give attention to second-generation Muslims who have been understudied, but whose production of hybridized identities is crucial in this process. Finally, I reflect on circumstances of reactive identity formation of Canadian Muslims who strengthen their identity in the face of discrimination, and the new possibilities they create for Canada’s multicultural society
A Framework to Assess the Supports Provided for Muslim Students in a Public School
Get PDFMany studies and surveys show that Islam is a misunderstood religion in many areas of the world. Therefore, Muslims in the West are a “poorly understood” minority group (Environics Institute, 2016). While other ethnic or racial minorities feel moderately comfortable defending themselves, their groups, and asserting their identities, Muslim youth “face qualitatively different identity tasks than do many of their peers,” largely due to feelings of “being under attack or scrutiny because of their religion” (Stonebanks & Sensoy, 2009). The purpose of this article is to present a framework that educators and administrators can use to identify the current supports provided for Muslim students and the gaps in what is available to help Muslim students feel welcomed in their schools. The framework is a two-dimensional matrix with six major challenges that Muslim students experience and the corresponding supports utilizing Banks’ Five Multicultural Dimensions (Content Integration, Knowledge Construction, Equity Pedagogy, Prejudice Reduction, Empowering School Culture and School Structures). The six challenges most prominently faced by Muslim youth, as articulated in the literature review and documents provided by school boards on the guidelines for different faith-groups are: religious practices, dress code, sexual ethics, stereotypes and biases, Islamophobia, and curriculum-related challenges
“The way to someone’s heart is through their stomach”: Anti-Orientalism in the Cookbooks of Habeeb Salloum
Get PDFoai:jrnl_rss:article/2Immigrant writing is a unique forum that provides insight into both immigrant and mainstream life, where authors serve as brokers between two cultures. This is especially true of the two most personal genres, cookbooks and memoirs, where culture and family history are directly discussed. The writing of Arab-Canadian author Habeeb Salloum (1924-2019) combined both genres. His cookbook-memoirs fostered intercultural dialogue and combatted Orientalist stereotypes. This article examines how he practiced decolonization using three techniques: first, by assimilating into stereotypes of ‘Oriental’ culture; then, by retrieving Orientalist tropes and recasting them into positive aspects of Middle Eastern culture; and, finally, by attempting to position Arab minorities as allies of Indigenous communities. By revealing how Salloum succeeded, and sometimes failed, to push an anti-Orientalist agenda in his cookbooks, this study reinforces the central role that food and memoirs play in shaping the identities and experiences of individuals, communities, and nations
Muslim Organizations in Canada: A Composite Picture of Service and Diversity
Get PDFAs Canada’s Muslim population has grown since the late 19th century, Muslim organizations have been established and developed to respond to the needs of an increasingly diverse population. Muslim organizations are active in numerous spheres of Canadian society, including but not limited to social services, education, religious practice, politics, and mental and physical wellbeing. While existing literature tends to examine Muslim organizations by type of organization, sphere of operations, or a particular phenomenon, this study presents a composite image of Muslim organizations in Canada as a whole, identifying patterns in how Muslim organizations are established and develop over time, in terms of the scope and focus of their activities. The multi-methods study draws on organizational documents and communications, a survey, and qualitative interviews across Canada. A central finding of the study is that Muslim organizations emerge in response to unmet, specific needs within Muslim communities and that these needs are not limited to the realm of religious practice. Muslim organizations are increasingly engaged in what secular society considers “non-religious” areas of life, reflecting a holistic understanding of religious life and Islam as a comprehensive way of life that does not compartmentalise a secular public life from a private religious one
Muslims and Multiculturalism in Canada: Introduction
Get PDFAn introduction to the inaugural issue of Religious and Socio-Political Studies Journal by its editorial board on the theme of Muslims and Multiculturalism in Canada