Islam in Canada: Canadian Perceptions and Challenges to Muslim Community

Abstract

The 9/11 attacks in United States (US) placed Islam/Muslims under the microscope throughout the world. Canada is the neighbor, largest trading partner and a close ally of US. So, it’s only natural that Canadian Muslims felt the ripples of that shock wave as well. Muslims were living in Canada under the radar even before Confederation (Year 1867). However, 9/11 incident changed everything for them leading to a rise in Islamophobia across the globe. As a result, even a country like Canada that prides itself for being a cultural mosaic could not stay immune from it. This led to various studies conducted in Canada to evaluate the perceptions of Canadians towards Islam/Muslims. All these studies failed to look at the other side of the coin, i.e. evaluating the impact of those perceptions on Muslims. This dissertation takes a balanced approach by exploring the attitudes of Canadians towards Islam/Muslims along with the challenges faced by the Canadian Muslim community. The goal is to find solutions to assist Muslims and their future generations live peacefully in Canada, while maintaining their Islamic identity. To collect data for the thesis, various websites and online newspapers were analyzed to assess the outlook of Canadians towards Islam/Muslims. This facilitated in determining the true place held by Islam/Muslims in the Canadian landscape. To study the challenges faced by Canadian Muslims, data was gathered from the Muslim community using a field study to learn about their experiences. Moreover, having lived in Canada for almost two decades, the researcher drew from his personal experiences as well. The data collection revealed that the attitudes of Canadians towards Islam/Muslims took a turn for the worse after 9/11. Since that event, things continue to remain on a shaky ground and anytime a terrorist act takes place in the world that is claimed by so-called Islamic jihadists, Muslims in Canada bear the brunt of it. Moreover, the researcher learnt that Canadian popular media rarely covered Islam/Muslims in the past, but since 9/11, Islam/Muslims have become its regular fixture; mostly getting negative coverage. Because of all of this hostility in the environment, Muslims in Canada continue to face varying levels of discrimination and have become easy targets of hate crimes. It is interesting to note that the treatment which the Canadian Muslims receive depends upon how strictly they adhere to Islamic teachings and which part of the country they choose to live. The more they apply the Islamic teachings in their lives, the more things get difficult for them. Also, the further they live away from the Metropolitan cities, the more discrimination they face. This dissertation matters because Islam is the second largest religion in Canada numbers-wise, but it is also the most misunderstood religion in the world. That is why, Muslims in Canada are perceived differently from others. If Muslims want to live in Canada with their head high, they need to understand what they are up against. Then only will they be able to bravely face the challenges that come their way.