On March 8, 2013, Carleton was pleased to host the “Muslims in Russia, the CIS and Canada: Cohabitation and Cooperation” conference. The issues debated throughout the day were the commonalities and differences among Muslim communities in Canada and Russia, as well as problems of integration into the legal frameworks of both countries.
This conference brought together experts from Carleton University, the University of Toronto, the Russian Academy of Science and Kazan State University as well as students and members from the Muslim community in Ottawa.
One of the Canadian panelists, Dr. Farhang Rajaee, discussed how different waves of Muslim immigration to Canada, over the last 30 years, have changed the community. Dr. Rajaee, Director of the College of Humanities at Carleton University, referred to Muslim immigrants to Canada in the past 30 years with the moniker “Muslim yuppies.” According to Dr. Rajaee, their classification as Muslim yuppies comes from their aspiration to not assimilate nor isolate themselves from Canadian society, rather they believe Canada has become their country and want to become a distinct part of it. In order to contrast Muslim communities in Canada with those in Russia, the visiting Russian scholars focused their presentations on Muslim communities in Russia, the Caucasus and Tatarstan, and how their treatment differs from Canada.
Russian expert, Alikber Alikberov, Head of the Centre of Central Asian, Caucasian and Ural-Volga Regional Research at the Institute of Oriental Studies, focused his presentation on the history as well as the current situation of Islam in Russia. More specifically, the need for the Russian government, especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union, to create an environment that encourages the state to keep its distance from both political and traditional Islam. His justification for creating such an environment has been the Russian government’s emphasis on common civil values aiming to unite the Russian people, regardless of their religious or ethnic backgrounds.
Professor Alikberov’s position was supported by Nail Mukharyamov, Director and political science professor at the Institute of Mass Communications and Social Sciences of the Kazan Federal University, presentation of the current situation of Islam in the republic of Tatarstan. In Mr. Mukharyamov’s presentation he stated “The political elite of Tatarstan has managed to contain the situation in the republic from sliding into crisis, spurred by the activities of radical Islamists and national separatists, and prevented these groups from joining their forces…” The basis of his presentation was the events in July 2012 in the Republic of Tatarstan when one of the Muslim leaders of Tatarstan, Mufti Ildus Faizov, was injured in a bomb explosion. The morning and afternoon panels were successful in highlighting the differences between Islamic communities in Canada and Russia.
By the end of the conference, the Russian participants came to the conclusion that some features of the Canadian approach Russia would do well to learn from . Moreover, the themes that came out over the course of the day were highlighting the issues with integrating these Muslim communities into the respective legal frameworks and societies of Canada and Russia. Alternatively, this academic forum demonstrated that two northern countries, far from Islamic centres, have an opportunity to set an international example of cultural and religious cooperation and enrichment.
To see a program from this conference, click here.
For International coverage of the conference, please the Valdai Discussion Club’s website.