the Federation of
Islamic Associations of the
United States and Canada (FIA) was formed. The
first conference of the FIA was held in London,
Ontario, in 1955.
With the growth of the Muslim community
in North America and the migration of Muslim
students from other countries (particularly the
a
rab
world, but also i
ran
, i
ndia
, p
akistan
, and
t
Urkey
) to study in North America, the m
Uslim
s
tUdents
a
ssociation
(MSA) was formed in 1963.
Today there are active chapters of the MSA in most
major colleges and universities in North America.
In 1981, the i
slamic
s
ociety
oF
n
orth
a
merica
(ISNA) was created. It is the largest Islamic orga-
nization in North America, with its Canadian
headquarters in the Toronto suburb of Missis-
saugua, Ontario. There are, of course, many other
Muslim communities in North America, repre-
senting such groups as the Shia (both Twelve-
Imam and Ismaili) and Sufi societies, the n
ation
oF
i
slam
(and all of its splinter groups such as the
Nation of Five Percenters), the Dar ul-Islam, and
others.
There is no accurate count of the Muslim
population in Canada or the U
nited
s
tates
. The
Canadian census does ask the question of reli-
gious affiliation. The 1981 Census of Canada was
the first to recognize Islam as a separate, distinct
religious category. According to the 1981 cen-
sus, there were 98,165 Muslims in Canada. The
overwhelming majority (77 percent) of Canadian
Muslims were foreign-born, with only 23 percent
being born in Canada. In 1981, more than half
(53.1 percent) of Canadian Muslims lived in
Ontario. The figures from the 1991 census show
253,260 Muslims in Canada, an increase of more
than 2.5 times the number from 1981.
The figures from the 2001 census list 579,600
Muslims in Canada, an increase of almost 2.3
times the number from the 1991 census. The esti-
mate of 579,600, however, may be low. The main
reason is that most Muslims are recent immigrants
who are reticent to self-identify as members of a
minority religious group for reasons ranging from
personal privacy, to a perception of discrimina-
tion, to a desire to fit in. This is particularly true
with the recent immigration of
reFUgees
into
Canada from countries such as Somalia, Bosnia,
and Albania. On the other hand, estimates of
population numbers are often linked with self-
worth, that is, minorities often tend to prefer
higher estimates for their own group and lower
estimates for others.
The ways in which Islam is lived and prac-
tised in Canada can best be seen in the Toronto
area, which has the largest population of Canada’s
Muslims. Three umbrella organizations represent
various communities there: the Islamic Society of
North America (ISNA), the Canadian Council of
Muslim Women (CCMW), and the Council of the
Muslim Community of Canada (CMCC). There
is a strong Shii presence in Toronto, both in its
Twelve-Imam and Ismaili forms. Sufis, including
members of the Chishti, Alawi, Qadiri, Jerrahi,
Rifai, Naqshbandi, and Nimatullahi orders are
quite active in Toronto. The Ahmadis are actively
involved in proselytizing and have built the larg-
est mosque in the Toronto area. This mosque,
named the Bait-ul-Islam (House of Islam), is
actually the largest mosque in all of Canada. It
was designed in 1987 by Gulzar Haider, a pro-
fessor of architecture at Carleton University in
Ottawa, Ontario, and the same architect who in
1979 was asked to design the mosque for the
headquarters of the Islamic Society of North
America in Plainfield, Indiana.
While Islam is a minority tradition in Canada,
Sunni Muslims constitute the majority of Toronto’s
Muslims. However, there are substantial minority
communities who practice their own forms of
Islam. Shi’i traditions are quite well represented
in Toronto. One estimate is that Shiis make up at
least 30 percent of the total Muslim population of
North America, about twice that found generally
among Muslims, and attributable to immigration
patterns. The Shii community in Canada increased
dramatically after the expulsion of South Asians
from Uganda in 1972 and the subsequent arrival
K 130
Canada
of Muslims from other East African countries such
as Kenya or Tanzania. Seven years later came the
revolution in Iran, resulting in another wave of
Iranian Shii immigration into North America.
There is also a substantial Ismaili community
in Canada (predominantly of South Asian and
e
ast
a
Frican
origin), self-estimated to consist
of some 30,000 members in the Greater Toronto
Area alone. Another minority is the Ahmadi com-
munity in Toronto, which has experienced major
difficulties from other Muslims.
Amir Hussain
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