Muslims in the Canadian Mosaic

Abstract

Almost one-third of the total population of Muslims in the world
today lives as a "minority" in lands where people of other faiths,
cTeeds and ideologies have administrative, political and legislative
control. As a religious minority, these Muslims face certain difficulties
and challenges in practising their own distinct way of life.'
This paper, based on a study of the Muslim community in the
Canadian National Capital Region (CNCR) conducted in 1992, explores
how the Muslim community in the CNCR has integrated itself into
Canadian society and how it has sought to maintain its Islamic identity
in terms of religious practice and belief. It will demonstrate the impact of
Canadian social values and structure on the formation of the Islamic
identity of Muslims living in Canada and will also examine some of the
ways by which this identity is maintained. This will be achieved by
examining previous work in the field, the sociohistorical development and
socio-demographic characteristics of the Muslim community in Canada
(in particular in the CNCR), and immigration factors. The methodology
and techniques used, findings, and conclusions will also be discussed.
Previous Work in the Field
To date, there have been few studies on North American Muslim
communities. Those that do exist have focused primarily on the Middle
Eastern (i.e., Arab) communities in Canada and the United States. Many
have discussed the processes of acculturation and assimilation, in addition
to attempts to preserve the traditional values, of these communities. The
results have indicated a negative correlation between Islamic observance
and non-Islamic societies. Since previous inquiries did not focus on the ...