Grassroots Canadian Muslim Identity in the Prairie City of Winnipeg: A Case Study of 2nd and 1.5 Generation Canadian Muslims

Abstract

What are grassroots “Canadian Muslims” and why not use the descriptor “Muslims in Canada”? This thesis examines the novel concept of locale specific grassroots Canadian Muslim identity of second and 1.5 generation Muslims in the prairie city of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The project focuses on a generation of Muslims that are settled, embedded, and active in a medium sized Canadian metropolis. Locale plays a powerful part in the way people navigate identities, form attachments, find belonging, and negotiate communities and society. In order to explore this unique identity a case study was conducted in Winnipeg. Interviews with 1.5 and second generation Muslims explored the experience of grassroots Canadian Muslim identity. The project does not focus on religious doxy or praxis but rather tries to understand a lived Canadian Muslim identity by exploring discourse and space as well as strategies, social perceptions and expectations. Participant observation, community resources and literature also aid in the understanding of the grassroots Canadian Muslim experience. This study found that the attachments, networks, and experiences in the locale give room for an embedded Canadian Muslim experience and more negotiable identities than most studies on Muslims in Canada describe. These individuals are not foreigners living in Canada. Their worldviews develop out of this particular and embedded grassroots experience. They navigate a new kind of hybrid Canadian Muslim identity that is unique and flexible. This is the Canadian Muslim experience of 2nd and 1.5 generation Winnipeg Muslims.