Safe havens or religious ‘ghettos’? Narratives of Islamic schooling in Canada

Abstract

Transnationalism and the experience of migrancy has lead to cultural dissonance for many newcomers from Muslim countries, unaccustomed to the culturally permissive social norms like consuming alcohol and partying, dating and premarital relations. Residing within culturally incongruent spaces, migrant Muslim communities often seek to shelter their children and youth from negative outside influences. Within this context, independent Islamic schools take on multiple sociological roles in the Canadian Muslim diaspora. For example, these schools attempt to create a ‘safe’ environment that protects students from the ‘de‐Islamizing’ forces in public schools and society at large. It is within the nexus of resisting cultural assimilation and engaging cultural survival that the need for Islamic schools emerges. These schools provide a culturally congruent space and a more seamless transition between the values, beliefs, and practices of the home and school environment. They also provide a space free from racism and religious discrimination that many students encounter within public schools. Yet Islamic schools, like other independent religious schools, are also accused of ‘ghettoizing’ students and not providing socialization within society at large, and are considered inadequate arenas for civic engagement in a racially and religiously plural society due to their ‘particularist’ orientation. This paper provides a critical examination of these claims and how they are both challenged and affirmed through the narratives of Islamic school stakeholders.

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