Islam in Canada

Islam is the largest non-Christian religion in Canada. Accoding to 2001 census, there were 579,640 Muslims in Canada, about 1.96 percent of Canada's population.[1]. In 2006, Muslim population is estimated to be 783,700 or about 2.5%[2].

Demographics, concentration, and life

Most Canadian Muslims are either recent immigrants to Canada, or the children of recent immigrants. There are two distinct streams of Muslim immigration to Canada. For decades many skilled professionals have emigrated to Canada to pursue a higher standard of living. There have also been large numbers of refugees. In the 1980s, Canada became a haven for those fleeing the Lebanese Civil War. In the 1990s, the largest source of Muslim refugees was Somalia.

The Canadian Muslim population is diverse, with people born in the Muslim world, Canadian-born Muslims, and Western converts all making up parts of the population. It is divided into many linguistic, cultural as well as different intellectual groups of Muslims.

The majority of Canadian Muslims live in the province of Ontario. The Toronto region is home to many Muslims, especially in Scarborough. Ottawa has one of Ontario's oldest Muslim communities and is an especially important area for Lebanese and [Somali]] Muslims. In the westend of Toronto, Mississauga has large concentration of Pakistani Muslims. In Waterloo region of Ontario many Bosniaks and Albanians Muslims have settled. Other Canadian metropolitan areas also have substantial Muslim populations includes Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Waterloo and Halifax.

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

History

The first recorded Islamic presence 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. 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.

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.

The CIC claims a membership of 50,000 Muslims, the MCC a membership of 100. Canadian Muslim Business Directory and serviceses for Canadian Muslims [3]

List of Muslim Canadians

• Abdullah Khadr
• Abdurahman Khadr
• Ahmed Ressam
• Ahmed Said Khadr
• Bilal Philips
• Dawud Wharnsby Ali
• Elvina Rafi - The Future of Art
• Farah Nasser - City TV news reporter in Toronto
• Fatima Huda-Pépin
• Haroon Siddiqui - Toronto Star columnist
• Ingrid Mattson
• Irshad Manji
• Jamal Badawi
• K'Naan
• Maher Arar
• Mohamed Elmasry
• Monia Mazigh
• Omar Alghabra
• Omar Khadr
• Rahim Jaffer
• Ramzi Abid
• Sabrina Jalees - Toronto Star columnist
• Shafiq Qaadri - Ontario's Member of Provincial Parliament
• Tarek Fatah - Host of Muslim Chronicle, frequent political talk show guest
• Wajid Khan - Politician
• Yasmeen Ghauri - Supermodel
• Yasmin Ratansi
• Talha Khalid

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 ASSOCIATION OF ISLAMIC CHARITABLE PROJECTS IN CANADA