Re-examine your world through the complex study of Islam and Muslims
The Institute of Islamic Studies (IIS) at the University of Toronto develops research projects that improve society’s understanding of Islam and Muslims.
By centering Islam and Muslims, the IIS offers a critical viewpoint from which we can better understand our world.
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Featured
The Polemical Creed of a ‘Bewildering Breed’: Reflections on the First Crusade
The crusader zeal and its attendant polemic established critical precedents for the proliferation of Anti-Islamic tropes and narratives in the premodern period. Throughout the four crusades, these narratives settled in the European canon and the Christian collective ‘psyche’. The discourse produced in this period is foundational in that it ‘sets the stage’ for contextualizing the manifestation of Islamophobic rhetoric across the Latin West, Iberia, and the colonies of European empires.
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Report: Humanitarianism and the Exclusion of Muslim Charities from the Financial Sector
A policy report addresses the downstream unintended consequences on Canadian Muslim charities, especially humanitarian ones, of Canada’s anti-money laundering, anti-terrorist financing, and sanctions regime.
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Muslims and Ontario’s Child Welfare System: Preliminary Findings
This piece explores preliminary findings about Muslim children’s involvements with Ontario’s CASs based on data from Freedom of Information Requests.
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Launch of new data report on Muslim demographics
The Institute of Islamic Studies (IIS), in partnership with Islamic Relief Canada (IRC) are excited to launch a new data report titled: Canadian Muslim Demographics, Socioeconomics, Social Attitudes, and Experiential Outcomes. The report offers a data analysis of the makeup of Canadian Muslim communities and how they are evolving over time. BackgroundIn 2023, IRC approached […]
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Research Engagements
Our research produces enriching perspectives about Islam and Muslims across four broad areas:
Academia
Research that questions, expands, and diversifies the production of knowledge on Islam and Muslims.
Policy
Research that critically looks at global governance, regulation, and policies through the Muslim experience.
Community
Research that integrates the lived experience of Canada’s diverse Muslims to support democracy and inclusion.
Culture
Research and programming that weaves Islamic and Muslim modes of cultural production as part of our shared, rich tapestry.