Muslims in the West:  Where Else But in Canada?

Dr. Mohamed Elmasry

Posted Oct 10, 2007      •Permalink      • Printer-Friendly Version
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WHERE ELSE BUT IN CANADA?

By Dr. Mohamed Elmasry

In Canada, Islam has not yet developed a truly national form of social and
religious culture; it is rather a work-in-progress.

But where else, except in Canada, will you find North America’s oldest
mosque—still standing, preserved as a national heritage site in
Edmonton, Alberta?

Where else, except in Canada, will you find the world’s first mosque with a
multi-function gymnasium? This modern facility is used for events such as
basketball games and sports tournaments, school graduations, fashion shows,
or lectures - but on Fridays it becomes a place of prayer.

Where else, except in Canada, will you find university classrooms which
have just been used for lectures in mathematics and computer science,
converted on Fridays into prayer halls?

Where else in the Western world, except in Canada, will you find the
highest per capita number of Muslim Members of Parliament and Senators?

Where else, except in Canada, will you find so many mosques and churches
sharing each other’s parking lots?

And where else but in Canada will you hear the largest Protestant church in
the country publicly declare that Muslims worship the same God that
Christians do?

So who else, but Canadian Muslims, would originate the world’s first
Islamic History Month? And they did!

All of these facts are Canadian realities, yet if questions about identity
and self-definition still occupy a prominent place in the minds of our
citizens, these issues pose an even greater challenge to Canada’s Muslims.

While Muslims are a small minority here (under 3 per cent of the total
population), they are still the largest non-Christian minority in the
country, comprising a wide variety of immigrants from some 40 different
national, linguistic and ethnic backgrounds. And over 50 per cent of
Canada’s 750,000 Muslims (2007 figures) are Canadian-born.

Muslim identity in Canada has been influenced in two major ways; first,
there is the country itself—a nation with a comparatively young history
(140 years in 2007), occupying a huge and ruggedly diverse land-mass—and
secondly, by the self-perceptions of its Muslim immigrants.

A Muslim in the U.S. is usually identified as a Black Muslim; in France, a
North African; in Britain, an East Indian or Pakistani; and in Germany, a
Turk. These designations reflect the predominant origin of Muslims in each
of those countries. But that is not so in Canada, where Muslims have
arrived from all over the world and from very diverse cultures. Here, in
our unique and dynamically challenging environment, the Canadian Muslim is
just that—a Canadian Muslim.

Whether they form a minority or majority segment of society, Muslims
historically have been able to create localized Islamic cultures suitable
for their region of settlement. This has resulted over time in distinct
Islamic societies that developed among Arabs, Africans, Persians, East
Indians, Malays, Chinese, Russians, and Turks.

On the Indian subcontinent, for example, Muslims form a minority of some
400 millions. That’s a very large minority, yet a minority nonetheless.

But it didn’t stop Indian Muslims from building one of the world’s greatest
cultures, highlighted by such imposing architectural monuments as the
world-famous Taj Mahal. And Muslim culture similarly imprinted its distinct
character on other areas, like Spain and Eastern Europe.

Now it is Canada’s turn to celebrate the Islamic legacy. Islamic History
Month Canada is a new and unprecedented initiative developed to respond
proactively to the multicultural, multiethnic and multifaith nation that we
have become. Beginning in October 2007, it is hoped that all Canadians will
share in this annual recognition of the nation’s largest non-Christian
faith group.

Islamic heritage does not belong only to Canadian Muslims; it belongs to
all Canadians. For more than 1,000 years, the contributors to Islamic
civilization were of different ethnic backgrounds, including African, Asian
and European. They were numerous men and women who were often adherents of
different faiths; most would never even have known that they were helping
to make history. Many of their names and accomplishments have faded with
the passage of time, but their collective story has not been forgotten. Now
there will be an annual opportunity, every October, to experience another
chapter of the Islamic story.

Islamic History Month Canada will also enhance our ties, both economically
and culturally, with Muslim countries around the world.

In the words of IHMC’s Honourary Chair, Senator Mobina Jaffer:

“Canada’s national cultural heritage is the sum total of the way Canadians
from every background and every walk of life identify and express
themselves. Islamic civilization does not belong only to Muslim Canadians,
but to all Canadians. In fact, for more than 1,000 years (about 600 AD
through 1600 AD), Muslims made significant contributions to the well-being
of humanity in numerous fields of endeavour. There are so many good stories
to share and new learnings to experience; we intend to do all that, and
more, during Islamic History Month Canada.”

Today, it would seem that the civilizations of East and West, or the Muslim
and non-Muslim world, have become reversed. But perhaps it is more a case
of having forgotten those former glories in the pursuit of present-day
materialism and political agendas. A re-discovery and renewed appreciation
of Muslim accomplishments would benefit all of humanity, allowing us to see
—and hopefully resolve—present conflicts within the wider spectrum of
human history.

Where else but in Canada?

(Dr. Mohamed Elmasry is national president of the Canadian Islamic
Congress. He can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address))

More information regarding IHMC can be found at:
http://www.islamichistorymonth.com

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