This volume examines, from diverse perspectives, what it means to be a Muslim in Canada. Is it a public or a private identity, and as an identity is it compatible with a secular democracy such as Canada? What relation does it bear to historical, cultural, and ethnic identities? Is a total agnostic or an atheist a Muslim? Is a person who disavows being a Muslim still a Muslim? How do Muslims cope with anti-Muslim bigotry, especially when it goes "official"? What alterations in social and religious practice and what re-thinking of interpretation can one expect in its evolution?
These vital questions of faith, culture, and identity are addressed by prominent members of the Canadian cultural and intellectual community.
Contributors include: Mohamed Alibhai (Vancouver; scholar, former editor
Islam in America
) Mayank Bhatt (journalist and author, Toronto) Amira Elghawaby (Communications Director, National Council of Canadian Muslims, Ottawa) Safia Fazlul (novelist,
The Harem
, Toronto) Ihsaan Gardee (Executive Director, National Council of Canadian Muslims, Ottawa) Karim H Karim (Carleton University, Ottawa) Monia Mazigh (author,
Mirrors and Mirages
, Ottawa) Ameen Merchant (novelist,
The Silent Raga
, Vancouver) Narendra Pachkhede (cultural commentator, Toronto) Asma Sayed (MacEwan University, Edmonton) Haroon Siddiqui (emeritus editor,
The Toronto Star
) Zainub Verjee (visual artist, Toronto).