Announcements

Call for Papers Extension to September 1, 2023

2023-07-13

RSS Journal invites submissions for this collection dedicated to local, regional, national, and global community identity, experiences and discussions, as well as examinations of how group and individual identity interact. We also invite community organizations to share submissions with us pertaining to their areas of service. Insights from a broad spectrum of areas are welcomed, including: traditional Islamic sciences, philosophy, digital humanities & media studies, history, anthropology, sociology, psychology, and  literature.

Submissions will be welcomed until September 1, 2023.

Read more about Call for Papers Extension to September 1, 2023

Current Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2022): Muslims and Mulitculturalism in Canada
					View Vol. 1 No. 1 (2022): Muslims and Mulitculturalism in Canada

In Canada, 2021 marked the 50th anniversary of the adoption of multiculturalism as a federal policy. Multiculturalism is often upheld as the pinnacle of Canadian culture and social achievement, and, in public education systems across the country, is celebrated as a primary point of difference between Canadian “mosaic” and American “melting pot” culture. Proponents of it argue that it encompasses “a range of notions of heritage, cultural diversity, recreation and entertainment activities, cultural centres, and as an entire way of life with fundamental institutional structures.”

Despite these performative public discourses about multiculturalism, which have been disseminated through public education and media in Canadian society since the policy’s adoption and development, multiculturalism has rightfully been understood (and critiqued) as an ideology - a set of “ill-founded beliefs which are often uncritically held by those whose interests are furthered by” them. The foundational presuppositions of multiculturalism ideology about major human concepts such as culture, cultural interaction, acculturation, difference, and power dynamics are often accepted in an unreflexive manner by those who uphold and accept its myths about itself - a similar or identical process seen in adherents of secularism and a connection that will be elaborated on  this issue.

Fittingly, those on the periphery of both multiculturalism as a project and secular ways of being and building societies, are among the first to offer critiques of them - those for whom the assumptions of these projects cannot be readily accepted as commonsensical, modern or progressive.

The diversity of the four articles in this volume demonstrates the myriad of ways in which multiculturalism informs and impacts Muslim life and ways of being in Canada. As a deeply fraught, yet central tenet of Canadian national narratives, multiculturalism requires close and critical attention from many vantage points. Muslim perspectives on multiculturalism are particularly telling, as Islam and Muslims so frequently find themselves at the margins or fractures of multiculturalism - sometimes with deeply harmful consequences. Yet it is not always so dire. As some of our authors demonstrate, Muslim ways of interacting with, participating in and resisting multiculturalism also show a way forward towards a more truly pluralistic society.

Published: 2022-12-08

Full Issue

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Welcome to the homepage of the Religious and Socio-Political Studies Journal (RSSJ)! We are committed to providing a platform for inter-disciplinary academic research on Muslims in Canada. We accept submissions from researchers working in the fields of sociology, history, religious studies, political science, education, psychology and media studies. Our peer-reviewed journal is intended to develop and contribute to wider critical conversations on Muslims in Canada. We remain open-access as part of our commitment to making relevant research available to community organizations and grassroots leadership who may benefit from our publications. 

The RSSJ helps develop a clearer picture of Muslim communities in Canada, their issues, challenges and priorities. Muslim communities in Canada deserve deeper scholarly work than the over-represented subjects of securitization and de/radicalization offer. We  amplify the voices of Muslims through research to get at the heart of otherwise under-studied topics. 

Our inaugural special issue in time for the 50th anniversary of Multiculturalism in Canada, October 2021, will tackle questions of identity, diversity, integration and more. Call for Papers to follow soon!