Acts of Erasure: the consequences of lethal policy, biases, and discrimination
On the evening of June 6, 2021, 20-year old Nathanial Veltman decided to maim, murder, and erase from existence, a family of Muslims out on a daily walk, simply because they were Muslim. According to media reports, he got in his car and mowed them over, mounting the curb as the family stood at an intersection. In that one act, Salman Afzaal (46), Madiha Salman (44), Yumna Salman (15) and Salman’s mother aged 74 were killed. Only one member of the family, who sustained considerable injuries, has survived the attack: the nine-year old Fayez Salman. Police believe the attack was intentional. Det. Supt. Paul Waight explained “There is evidence that this was a planned, premeditated act motivated by hate. It is believed that these victims were targeted because they were Muslim.” Within a day, we find the familiar responses pouring in from all sectors, across social media platforms and others. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted his horror at the events. Opposition leader Erin O’Toole was equally shocked. Government officials were quick to label this an act of terror that has no place in Canada. These initial reactions are of course what one would hope for from elected officials. They set out a vision of leadership that is future-oriented. But for those of us who devote our lives to advanced research, we also know that there is no present or future without a past; and that past has something to tell us about how we got here today. That past includes…
The Story of Our Stories – Muslims in Canada Archives (MiCA) Storytelling Circle
One of the many blessings of working as an archivist at MiCA is the chance to connect with a cornucopia of wonderful people that I may not have had the pleasure of meeting otherwise. Although we use different avenues to do our work, the brilliant ribbon that ties us all together is our shared passion, commitment, and drive to amplify the stories and lived experiences of Canadian Muslims into the mainstream and, simultaneously, reshape current narratives. Connections! One of these lovely people is Shagufta Pasta. A great supporter of the work we do at the Institute of Islamic Studies (IIS), she and I had been interacting on Twitter for awhile when she contacted me about the Digital Iftars initiative. Here was a chance at last to work together! The first time Shagufta and I spoke was virtually through Zoom in order to brainstorm how the iftar could potentially be structured. She had the great idea to join forces (Digital Iftars + Muslims in Canada Archives) and, thus, MiCA began preparing a casual, informal digital iftar that we hoped would be attended by our friends, community partners, and the public. As an archive, one of MiCA’s goals is to be a platform for storytelling so, naturally, I thought that this iftar would be the perfect space to share stories and connect with our community. May 3rd was the target date and we had roughly a week to plan and promote. One of the first things we did was connect with some of MiCA’s biggest supporters and friends to invite them to join us. Furthermore, we encouraged all storytellers to also have with them a record or artifact that was relevant to their story – if they wanted! The record was meant to complement and…
Call for Senior Fellows: Islamic Art & Material Culture – 2021-2022
The Institute of Islamic Studies (IIS) at the University of Toronto invites applications for an innovative Fellows Program in Islamic Art and Material Culture. The Fellows Program is a joint project of the IIS, Aga Khan Museum (AKM), and Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), and is run collaboratively through the Islamic Art and Material Culture Collaborative (IAMCC). The definition of Islamic art and material culture here encompasses the art and material cultural produced within the multi-cultural, multi-confessional and multi-ethnic regions from across West Africa to Southeast Asia and China from the seventh century to the present day by artists, architects, craftspeople and for patrons and consumers from a range of ethnic and religious backgrounds. The Fellows Program is a unique opportunity for graduate students to work under the supervision of museum curators, collections managers and/or other museum staff to gain experience in collections and exhibition development and interpretation at two of Toronto’s world class cultural institutions — The Aga Khan Museum and the Royal Ontario Museum. The Program additionally provides opportunities for more research-based experience for graduate students to work under the supervision of university faculty to support advanced research at one of Canada’s premier institutions of learning — the University of Toronto. The internship program provides graduate students a unique experience in the city of Toronto, integrating museum curation and development with research and innovation in an increasingly global conversation on art and aesthetics. The Senior Fellows Program is open to graduate students in MA and PhD programs at the University of Toronto in the fields of art history, museum studies, curatorial studies and Islamic studies. Senior Fellows will be awarded a $4500 fellowship and work closely with curators…
Response to Federal Budget’s proposed Anti-Terrorist Financing measures
On April 19, 2021 Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrysta Freeland presented to Parliament the 2021 Federal Budget. Not surprisingly, the budget narrative is framed around the need to respond to COVID19 and overcome the economic recession it has caused across Canada. But while the budget presents a considered impetus to Canada in the wake of this pandemic, there were a few measures deep in the over 700-page document that raise serious concerns about whether and to what extent the Government of Canada will continue its systemically discriminatory policies as they impact the audits of Muslim-led charities. On Page 309 of the Budget, under the heading “Action Against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing”, the Liberal Government’s budget provides in relevant part: The Canada Revenue Agency plays an important role in the fight against terrorist financing and money laundering in Canada. In support of this role, amendments to the Income Tax Act are needed to address legislative gaps and streamline the revocation process to prevent abuse of charitable status. Budget 2021 proposes to amend the Income Tax Act to allow for the immediate revocation of charitable status for organizations listed as a terrorist entity. Budget 2021 also proposes to prevent individuals with a known history of supporting terrorism from becoming a director, trustee, or similar official of a registered charity. Budget 2021 further proposes to allow for the revocation of charitable status when a charity provides false statements for the purpose of maintaining their registration. By preventing the abuse…
Cataloguing an Archive in a Pandemic – The Progress and Development of the Esplin Arabic Manuscript Collection
After nearly 50 years of obscurity, a large collection of rare manuscripts in the basement of the Thomas Fisher Rare Books Library has found new life as the Institute of Islamic Studies (IIS) and the University of Toronto Libraries (UTL) agreed upon and implemented a plan to catalogue this collection, thereby opening it up to the world of research. The collection consists of approximately 1,200 texts ranging from the 15th to 19th centuries and written in Arabic, Farsi, Turkish, and Ottoman Turkish. The fact that this collection is coming to light now represents both the expanding collaboration between the IIS and the UTL, as well as the UTL’s diversification as it has pursued growth in its institutional capacity. The historical lack of language skills among the UTL librarians and archivists created a barrier to the processing and cataloguing of the collection. At the heart of the joint initiative between the IIS and UTL was the goal of both cataloguing this collection of Islamic texts to benefit a global research community and cultivate existing and new talent at the UTL with diversified language capabilities and understanding of a wide range of manuscript production practices. In this way, the David Esplin Arabic Manuscripts Collection carries the unique potential to reverberate throughout the U of T community and open doors of opportunity for new collections of all language and disciplines. Since the start of the project in the Fall of 2019, considerable progress has been made. Just over 1,000 of the manuscripts have…
Report launch: on structural biases and prejudicial policies in CRA audits of Muslim-led charities
We at the IIS are proud to launch a new research report, in partnership with National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), called “Under Layered Suspicion: A Review of CRA Audits of Muslim-led Charities”. The report can be found at: layeredsuspicion.ca The report finds potential biases and prejudicial policies that influence the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) selection of Muslim-led charities for audit, the practices within those audits, and their findings. The report was principally funded by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and received supplementary funding from the Reading Muslims project, funded by the university of Toronto’s Connaught Secretariat. Below is an excerpt from the Executive Summary: Muslim-led charities have for years expressed concerns about the selection, frequency, and reasoning behind audits of their organizations. The findings from Under Layered Suspicion suggest that there is a basis for these concerns. The report identifies whole-of-government policies and patterns of audit practices that together evince potential biases in Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) audits of Muslim-led charities. Under Layered Suspicion draws attention to the Government of Canada’s anti-terrorism financing and anti-radicalization policies. When these policies are operationalized by the CRA’s Charities Directorate and the Review and Analysis Division (RAD), they create the conditions for potential structural bias against Muslim-led charities. The study shows that in the crosshairs of these policies, Muslim-led charities are uniquely vulnerable to penalties or even deregistration at the hands of the CRA. This vulnerability takes shape through ordinary auditing techniques that occur in complicated global times. Under Layered Suspicion analyzes the…
Announcing the Muslims in Canada Data Initiative (MiCDI)
The Institute of Islamic Studies (IIS) is excited to introduce you to a new and exciting venture: the Muslims in Canada Data Initiative (MiCDI). MiCDI examines and and develops large-scale data sets, that improve the visibility of Muslims across Canada. With a higher resolution understanding of Canada’s Muslims communities, MiCDI can enable more effective discussions about the policies and decisions that affect Muslims. Led by University of Calgary’s Dr. Abdie Kazemipur, MiCDI is made up of a team of experienced data scholars and representatives from Canada’s major data institutions (such as StatCan; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada; and others). MiCDI’s team of researchers are committed to creating a powerful impact in the lives Muslims and other minorities and racialized communities in Canada. Launch Webinar – Two-Part Series The IIS will be hosting two webinars in March to introduce audiences to the project and get a deeper understanding of what MiCDI offers. A team of experts and researchers will share key insights into the state and quality of data on Muslims, and the opportunities available to improve our data on Canadian Muslims, including plans for a robust survey led by Environics Institute. The webinars will feature a core team of experts and researchers with a proven commitment and experience in improving our understanding of Muslims in Canada through data: Dr. Abdie Kazemipur – Professor of Sociology, Faculty of Arts, and Chair of Ethnic Studies, University of Calgary Dr. Sarah Shah – Research Fellow, Institute of Islamic Studies, University of Toronto Dr. Keith Neuman – Ph.D, Senior…
Muslims in Canada Archives (MiCA) project covered in Toronto Star
The Muslims in Canada Archive (MiCA) project was recently featured in the Toronto Star. Moska Rokay (Research Fellow and Project Coordinator for MiCA), and Anver Emon (Director, Institute of Islamic Studies) share insights about the origins of the project and how it fits into a broader societal shift in empowering community members to tell their own stories, in their own words. Check out the article here: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2021/01/25/these-archivists-documenting-muslims-in-canada-are-collecting-everything-from-grocery-lists-to-8-tracks.html For more information about MiCA, please visit our website section here.
Reading Muslims: Launch webinar on Jan 21
We’re very excited to share some updates from the Reading Muslims project, as we develop the project throughout the year ahead. About Reading Muslims Reading Muslims is an interdisciplinary conversation on the role of texts and textuality within Islamic studies. The project re-examines the methodological assumptions surrounding the history and use of texts across a wide range of disciplines including anthropology, Arabic literature, political science, and religious studies. By facilitating new research that foregrounds the politics around invoking Muslim texts, the Reading Muslims projects aims to elevate the academic treatment of Islam and Muslims and impact wider social discourse. Reading Muslims contains four research “hubs” that inquire into various aspects of textuality within Islamic Studies: Muslims as Readers State Surveillance and Islamophobia Reading Practices Anthropology of Islam The project is funded by the University of Toronto’s Connaught Global Challenge Grants Program. Launch Webinar on Jan 21 We’re starting out by launching the project with a webinar, “Reading Muslims: Re-examining the place of textuality in Islamic Studies”. Date: Thursday, January 21, 2021 Time: 12:30pm to 2:00pm ESTLocation: Zoom webinar REGISTER HERE The webinar will feature research leads from the project’s network, who’ll discuss critical questions surrounding textuality and power, when it comes to Islamic texts and their use. Dr. Anver Emon — Director, Institute of Islamic Studies, University of Toronto Dr. Ruba Kana’an — Assistant Professor of Islamic Art and Architecture, University of Toronto Mississauga Dr. Nada Moumtaz — Assistant Professor, Religion & Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, University of Toronto Dr. Youcef Soufi — Research Fellow, Institute of Islamic Studies, University of…
IIS Occasional Paper Series: Canadian Muslim Health Exceptionalism
A report was recently published by the Institute of Islamic Studies (IIS), led by Dr. Sarah Shah, on the status of health data and research on Canadian Muslims. The paper titled “Canadian Muslim Health Exceptionalism—Community Consultation” is available to the public here: https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/handle/1807/102879 Abstract:This report follows a recent scoping review on Canadian Muslim health. The purpose of this report is to (1) identify and summarize existing research, (2) share information about current scholarship; (3) identify gaps in existing knowledge; (4) provide recommendations for future research, policy, and practice; and, most importantly, to (5) consult with community partners and organizations, public policy officials, and researchers to bridge gaps in health care and research. Previously, in the report “Canadian Muslims: Demographics, Discrimination, Religiosity, and Voting” Dr. Sarah Shah looked at the demographic make-up of Canadian Muslims. Building on the critical gaps identified in the demographic report, “Canadian Muslim Health Exceptionalism” is yet another indicator of the broader, recurring issues with data collection and data-based understanding on Canadian Muslims. As shown in this report, the issue surrounding data has significant implications for research, policy, and communities. This is an area that the IIS is keenly focused on and will be sharing plans to address the systemic issues with data collection and understanding of the Muslim Canadian population. To keep up to date, please subscribe to our newsletter and/or follow us on Twitter.