There was dancing, but no boys – in mixed company, young Muslim women cannot dance or wear revealing clothing. No one was sneaking in alcohol – drinking is strictly forbidden by Islam. And there was no prom Queen: Instead, every graduate wore a tiara. The “Sister’s Prom” has become an annual event among Toronto’s Muslim…
The era of multiculturalism in Canada has made many people more familiar with the festive traditions of other groups, and given common currency to new words such as Ramadan, Kwanza and Diwali. But knowledge of those religions rarely goes much beyond the surface, according to John Stackhouse, professor of theology at Vancouver’s Regent College. “If…
More than 100 Canadians have donated money for airfare and exposed themselves to criminal prosecution in an effort to force Ottawa to allow a Canadian citizen to fly home from Sudan, where he’s been stranded since being labeled an al-Qaeda operative by the United Nations. Most of the 115 contributors from across Canada, including university…
The Masjid el-Noor mosque in Toronto has begun offering an intervention program to young local Muslims that aims to shield youth from radical ideologies. Mohammed Shaikh, the mosque’s director, told news agencies, “We just want to encourage them to be faithful and not to take the law into your own hand” by offering a 12-step…
Negative sentiments against Muslims and Jews are on the rise in “old Europe” more than anywhere else around the world today, a survey released in September by the Pew Research Center’s Pew Global Attitudes Project has shown. In contrast, negative attitudes towards Christians in Europe are “less common than negative ratings of Muslims or Jews,”…
