Belonging and Banishment: Being Muslim in Canada.

I am a voracious reader, enjoying books in almost every genre. I also write short fiction, take photographs and spend considerable time in the outdoors.

Belonging and Banishment is a very readable collection of essays from a wide range of Muslims who write about their experiences living in Canada. Natasha Bakht has gathered this volume together in the hopes of beginning to educate Canadians about what it means to be both Canadian and Muslim. She points out that the first Muslims came to Canada before Confederation, but that now they are forming a larger and more visible part of the multicultural mix.

The essays range from Haroo Siddiqui’s discussion of the intersection of Canadian law and Muslims in a few noteworthy cases; to Anver M. Emon’s erudite comments on moral agency; to Ausma Zehanat Khan’s delightful article on the background and early publication of Muslim Girl Magazine. The authors range from deeply religious to secular. As in any collection of this nature, I found some of the essays more readable than others, but each work had its own important insight into the reality of being Muslim in Canada.

This book is a fascinating glimpse into a growing segment of our population that we tend to hear of on the news only as stereotypes. The truth is that there is no one definitive way to be Muslim. Within the Muslim community there are as many differences as there are in any other community in the country. The importance of Belonging and Banishment is that it opens the door for dialogue and relationships between Muslim and non-Muslim.