Canadian Muslims: Census shows Muslims now outnumber Jews in Canada

Nothing to panic about, eh

Questions are being asked both inside and outside the Canadian Muslim community in the wake of the release of the 2001 Canadian census, which shows that the Muslim population has increased by more than 128% over the 1990s to become Canada’s second largest religion, with Muslims (579,640) surpassing Jews (329,995) for the first time. (This is as opposed to the United States, where the Muslim population is still in dispute.) In some parts of Canada, the Muslim concentration reaches up to 7%. “I guess we feel happy about it,” said Khalid Malik, president of the Muslim Association of New Brunswick. “But it is still a very small number.” Jewish groups have expressed concern that these new demographic facts will emphasize Canada’s desire for neutrality in the Middle East conflict by counterbalancing Jewish political power, but others stress that ethnic divisions within the Muslim community and general disorganization will keep Muslim influence down. However, cold hard numbers like these can very easily translate into votes. “Of course it is going to have an effect because politicians respond, of course to votes,” said University of Toronto Professor John Carson. For now, Canadian Muslims are concerning themselves with more local matters, like expanding mosques and schools to meet the needs of the growing population, as well as integrating into the surrounding community. “Now Islam is going to be a western religion,” said Salaam Elmenyawi, chairperson of the Muslim Council of Montreal, “and we look forward to making a positive contribution.”

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.