Islam in Canada
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/* List of Muslim Canadians */ Tarek Fatah
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Canada has a small but growing Muslim population. As of 2001, there were 580,000 Muslims in Canada, about 1.8 percent of Canada's population. Islam is the largest non-Christian religion in Canada.
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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 and cultural groups, and between different divisions of Islam.
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 populations and is an especially important area for Lebanese Muslims. Other Canadian metropolitan areas also have substantial Muslim populations including Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton.
Muslims in Canada face no official discrimination. The wearing of the hijab is permitted in schools and some places of work. Religious holidays and dietary restrictions are also respected, but outside major urban areas it may be difficult to find some halaal food. It is also often difficult to maintain 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.
Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, many Muslims have begun to look to Canada as an alternative to the United States, where anti-Muslim sentiment is perceived as high. This is especially true with international students who have come to Canada in much larger numbers since the attacks.
Organizations
The Muslim community in Canada is represented by two principal organizations: the Canadian Islamic Congress, which represents traditional opinions in the community and has the support of most mosques, and the Muslim Canadian Congress, a progressive, liberal group that was founded in 2002.
The CIC claims a membership of 50,000 Muslims, and the MCC a membership of 100,000[1], [2] ).