LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW - Brock University

44 LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW IX
However, as Canadian culture became more dominated by an anti-religious
media and a morally permissive educational philosophy, Muslims found it
increasingly difficult to assimilate. As they try to lay down a value system
for their children, many are turning to their Islamic heritage and the values
of their ancestors. Furthermore, most recent Muslim immigrants are
professionals who do not feel as much pressure to assimilate as their
working class predecessors did. 11
It is commonly believed that the more religious Muslim immigrants
tend to compartmentalise Islamic familial life from Western societal life and
that the less religious will either abandon their Muslim characteristics for
Western ones, or become more committed to Islamic principles than they
had been previously. 12
The major source of conflict for the conscientious Muslim arises from
the fact that Canada is a non-Islamic country. Islam is based on a
comprehensive system of law called the Sharia, which involves all aspects
of life including the religious, family, social, and political. The question
Muslims often face is how much of the Sharia must be observed in order to
qualify as a Muslim. Must one pray five times daily Must a woman be
veiled Must a Muslim abstain from alcohol and pork Some have simply
adopted the secular Canadian lifestyle and can only be considered nominal
Muslims. Others choose to follow only some of the requirements, like
occasional prayer, dietary restrictions, and fasting during the Muslim month
of Ramadan. Working Muslims often find it a challenge to find opportunity
to pray five times daily and gather for worship on Friday. So they may
choose to observe only those practices which are convenient, or to perform
them at another time. Thus it seems that under existing circumstances many
Muslims do not consider it necessary to follow the letter of the Law.
Perhaps the greatest challenge is that voiced by Muslim families who wish
to raise their children with Islamically acceptable behaviour and values. 13
When it comes to social laws involving marriage, divorce, banking,
preparing wills, and burying, it can be even more difficult for those living
here. To some extent orthodox Muslims who wish to follow the Sharia in
areas of social and economic life are able to do so where the appropriate
Islamic institutions exist. For example, there is a network for Islamic
banking in Toronto and it is possible for Muslims to marry and divorce
Islamically in Ontario. Canadian society generally has made room for
11 Ernest Hahn, Muslims (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1995) 25 ff.
12 Nimat H. Barazangi, “Islamic Education in the U.S. and Canada: Conception and
Practice of the Islamic Belief System”, in The Muslims of America, ed. Yvonne Y. Haddad (New
York: Oxford University Press, 1991) 165.
13 Personal communication with the director of the Jami Mosque, 56 Bousted Ave, Toronto,
Ontario. Hereafter cited as Personal comm. Jami.