“Are you Canadian first, or Muslim?”

At SAFspace:“Are you Canadian first, or Muslim?” an impression of a visit of a delegation of Dutch mayors and the police service to learn something from the way ethnic and religious communities interact with the state society.

During the discussion they asked various questions about the Muslim experience in Canada. They seemed quite taken with the young Muslims on the panel. “Dutch Muslims aren’t like you!” the mayor beside me exclaimed. “They are not educated. They are…what do you call it…they are illiterate, many of them.” They marvelled at the way young Muslims had almost seamlessly merged into the public institutions and organizations of this country. How had we accomplished so much, they wanted to know.

Come on, dear mayor, you know better then that. Many Muslims are active in all kinds of political and student organizations and the amounts of Muslim youth in higher education is getting quite impressive (although it can and should be more, yes).

Or this question:

“Let me ask you something,” one of the mayors interjected. “Do you consider yourself Canadian first, or Muslim?” Someone else answered the question, and in retrospect I’m glad I didn’t, because as I thought about it later that day, its complexity became clear to me.

Well since one is a religious affiliation and the other a national one, these two don’t have to bite, I think.

But I don’t see that as problematic because I don’t imagine why I’d be forced to choose between being a Muslim and being Canadian. Each individual, Muslim or not, has various characteristics that make up a single identity. These characteristics intersect and diverge from one another. Sometimes they even clash. Part of living is learning how to reconcile the various aspects of one’s identity. Living in a secular context, a Muslim adapts the religious discourse she uses as well as her religious practice so that they fit into the society in which she chooses to live. Similarly, in a liberal democratic society, this same Muslim expects that the institutions of the state will lay a solid foundation for the very real protection of her right to freedom of expression and religion.

So I hope this post from SAFspace will be send to all the people of that delegation; they might learn something from and ask smarter questions.