Islam is one of the major religions of the world, and one of the fastest-growing religions both in Canada and worldwide. Its adherents are concentrated in South, Central and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and North and East Africa, but are also scattered across the globe.
The Teachings of Islam
The word “Islam” is derived from an Arabic root with a variety of meanings that include submission, obedience and peace. Followers of Islam, called Muslims (Moslems), are called to surrender themselves to the revealed will of the one God, Allah, and to live in righteousness and obedience. The teachings of Islam are grounded in the Book of Allah, the Qur’an (Koran), the scripture that Muslims believe was revealed to Muhammad, the last great prophet. Muhammad lived in the 7th century and is considered the successor of earlier prophets such as Abraham, Moses and Jesus, who all brought revelations of the same divine message for the guidance and benefit of humanity.
Islamic Religious Practices
Muslims are expected to live up to the demands of Shari’a, the Islamic legal-ethical system of rights and responsibilities. The Shari’a is derived primarily from the Qur’an and from the example of Muhammad. There are five acts of worship, known as the “Pillars of Islam,” that are required of all believers: a testimony of faith (translated as “I bear witness that there is no god but God [Allah] and that Muhammad is the messenger of God”); ritual prayer, offered five times a day and preceded by purification; yearly charitable giving, which shows one’s commitment to God and to the community; fasting during the holy month of Ramadan; and a pilgrimage to the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca once in a person’s lifetime. These rituals are meant to be performed as purposeful acts of devotion, rather than as mere customs, and are to remind believers of their relationship to God.
The Islamic house of worship, the mosque, is often characterized by a large, open interior and a dome-shaped roof with a minaret or tower, from which the muezzin (Muslim official or crier) calls the faithful to worship. Prayer services are conducted daily, and Muslims gather on Fridays for a congregational prayer and a sermon as well. The first Canadian mosque was built in Edmonton in 1938.
Islam in Canada
Muslims arrived in Canada from different countries at different times, as a result of changes in Canadian immigration policy and of conditions in the immigrants’ home countries that prompted them to leave. Early (pre-1930s) Muslim immigrants came from countries such as Lebanon, Albania, Syria, Yugoslavia and Turkey, and settled mainly in Ontario, Alberta, and then Québec. Muslims who came to Canada after the Second World War emigrated from some of the same areas, as well as from Indonesia, Morocco, Palestine, Egypt, Iraq, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh; many of these immigrants were highly educated, westernized professionals. They were followed in the 1960s by a wave of less-skilled labourers of Indo-Pakistani background who were escaping discrimination in East Africa and elsewhere. More recently, Muslim immigrants have included unskilled workers from war-torn areas such as southern Lebanon, Somalia and the Balkans, as well as political refugees from Iran and Afghanistan. Most Muslims in Canada live in urban areas, especially Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver. Canadian Muslims are a diverse community with a range of ethnic backgrounds and first languages.
A large majority of Muslims, in Canada and worldwide, adhere to Sunni Islam, while the remainder follow Shi’i Islam. The differences between the groups have to do with leadership of the faith, among other issues that largely stemmed from the original divergence. There are other divisions within these two main branches of Islam as well.
Muslim immigrants have sometimes found it difficult to incorporate Islamic practices into their lives. For example, special arrangements often have to be made with employers or schools to accommodate prayer times and religious holidays. Islamic dietary restrictions concerning the way meat is slaughtered, and against pork and alcohol, are sometimes seen as barriers to social integration. Some Muslims in the recent past have also argued that the Canadian legal system does not allow them to fulfill Shari’a law; although Ontario tentatively investigated the possibility of allowing “faith-based arbitration” in some cases for religious groups, public fears and backlash quickly put an end to the idea.
A strain between Muslim Canadians and the larger Canadian society regarding traditional Islamic gender roles has been evident, and political events involving Muslims worldwide have also caused social tensions. In particular, the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States, and the subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, led to public unease about Islamic extremists. However, the Muslim community in Canada has made efforts to reach out and promote mutual understanding, and to acquaint other Canadians with Islamic contributions to culture, science and art. In 2010, the Aga Khan, a major Muslim leader, was given honorary Canadian citizenship.
Despite its challenges, the Muslim community in Canada continues to grow and thrive as it both adapts to Canadian life and enriches this country’s cultural landscape.
Learn More: Islam in The Canadian Encyclopedia
Religion