Islam in Canada

According to 2001 census, there were 579,640 Muslims in Canada, just under 2% of the population.[1]. In 2006, Muslim population is estimated to be 783,700 or about 2.5%[2].

Demographics, concentration, and life

File:Toronto Dawah Centre.jpg

Toronto Dawah Centre

Most Canadian Muslims are either recent immigrants to Canada (first generation immigrant), or the children of recent immigrants (second generation immigrant). There are two distinct streams of Muslim immigration to Canada. For decades, many skilled professionals have immigrated to Canada to pursue a higher standard of living. There have also been large numbers of refugees. In the 1980s, Canada became an important place of refuge for those fleeing the Lebanese Civil War. In the 1990s, due to the Somali Civil War, the largest number of Muslim refugees was from Somalia.

The Canadian Muslim population is diverse, combined with the people born in the Muslim world, Canadian-born Muslims as well as Western converts, all making up the Canadian Muslim mosaic. The community is also divided into many linguistic, cultural and intellectual groups.

The majority of Canadian Muslims -- and not coincidentally the majority of the country's immigrants -- live in the province of Ontario. The Toronto region is home to many Muslims; although it is diverse, Somali Muslims are a large proportion. Muslims especially reside in Toronto's Scarborough region. In the west end of Toronto, Mississauga has a large concentration of Pakistani Muslims. In the Waterloo region of Ontario, large numbers of Muslims from Bosnia and Albania have settled. Ottawa has one of Ontario's oldest Muslim communities and is an especially important area for Lebanese and Somali Muslims. Other Canadian metropolitan areas also known to have substantial number of Muslims that includes Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Halifax.

Because of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Muslims in Canada face no official religious discrimination. Under Section 2(a) of the CCRF, the wearing of the hijab is permitted in schools and places of work. Religious holidays and dietary restrictions are also respected, but outside major urban areas it may be difficult to find halal food. It is also often difficult to observe Islamic rules against usury.

History

The first recorded presence of Muslims in Canada was the 1871 census which found 13 Muslims among the population. The first Canadian mosque was constructed in Edmonton in 1938, when there were only about 700 Muslims in the country. This building is now part of the museum at Fort Edmonton. The years after World War II saw a swift increase in the Muslim population, but in the 1981 census the population was still below 100,000. The relatively relaxed and accepted role of Islam in Canada in the 21st century is represented by the success of the television sitcom Little Mosque on the Prairie.

Organizations

The Muslim community in Canada is represented by several organizations: the Canadian Islamic Congress, which represents traditional opinions in the community and has the support of most mosques, the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) which has its foundation rooted in traditional Islamic ideology with a focus on dynamic application within the current Canadian context, CAIR-CAN-Council of American Islamic Relations Canada which has now become one of the leading advocacy and civil liberties groups on behalf of the Muslim community, the Muslim Canadian Congress, a progressive, liberal group that was founded in 2002 as well as other organisations such as Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA). These are only some of the key organisations within the Muslim Canadian community, the community is a large, diverse community with well over 60 ethno-cultural groups and so organisations are continually emerging as they seek to meet the needs of community members.

Student associations are strongly established at most Canadian universities, with the MSA at the University of Toronto, started in 1966, being the largest student organization on campus[3]. Student-led initiatives are generally well supported and successful, including annual events such as MuslimFest and the Reviving the Islamic Spirit conference, the largest Islamic event in Canada.

List of Canadian individuals related to Islam

• Bilal Philips
• Dawud Wharnsby Ali
• Elvina Rafi - The Future of Art
• Farah Nasser - City TV news reporter in Toronto
• Farhan Lalji - TSN Broadcast Personality
• Fatima Huda-Pépin is a Member of the National Assembly of Quebec
• Haroon Siddiqui - Toronto Star columnist
• Ingrid Mattson, current President of the Islamic Society of North America
• Irshad Manji, Muslim feminist and critic of Islam; author and journalist
• Jamal Badawi, community leader and Professor of Business Administration at St.Mary's University, Halifax
• Ali Sina, Canadian-Iranian apostate of Islam and author of over 225 articles and a book.
• K'Naan
• Maher Arar
• Mohamed Elmasry
• Monia Mazigh
• Omar Alghabra
• Rahim Jaffer
• Ramzi Abid
• Sabrina Jalees - Toronto Star columnist
• Shafiq Qaadri - Ontario's Member of Provincial Parliament
• Sayyid Ahmed Amiruddin al Jilani al Husayni al Haqqani al Khwajagani an-Naqshbandi - Leader of Naqshbandi Sufi Order in Toronto
• Talha Khalid
• Tarek Fatah- former president of the Muslim Canadian congress, which has now split into two organizations.
• Wajid Khan - Politician
• Yasmin Ratansi
• Zaib Shaikh

See also

• Religion in Canada

External links

• Canada religious census 2001
• Canada’s Demo-Religious Revolution: 2017
• Canadian Muslim Business and service Directory
• Islamic Association in Canada
• Canadian Council Of Muslim Women