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A Critical Analysis of the Media's Coverage of Religious Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 7-25-2012 12:00 AM Moving Beyond the “Mosqueteria:” A Critical Analysis of the Media’s Coverage of Religious Accommodation at an Ontario Public School Aruba Mahmud The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Goli Rezai-Rashti The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Education A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Master of Education © Aruba Mahmud 2012 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Education Commons, Film and Media Studies Commons, and the Race, Ethnicity and Post- Colonial Studies Commons Recommended Citation Mahmud, Aruba, "Moving Beyond the “Mosqueteria:” A Critical Analysis of the Media’s Coverage of Religious Accommodation at an Ontario Public School" (2012). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 648. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/648 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Moving Beyond the “Mosqueteria:” A Critical Analysis of the Media’s Coverage of Religious Accommodation at an Ontario Public School Spine title: Moving Beyond the “Mosqueteria” (Thesis format: Monograph) by Aruba Mahmud Graduate Program in Education A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Aruba Mahmud 2012 THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO SCHOOL OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORATE STUDIES CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION Supervisor Examiners ______________________________ ______________________________ Dr. Goli Rezai-Rashti Dr. Bernard Hammond ______________________________ Supervisory Committee Dr. Wayne Martino ______________________________ ______________________________ Dr. Jason Brown Dr. Susan Rodger The thesis by Aruba Mahmud entitled: Moving Beyond the Mosqueteria: A critical Analysis of the Media’s Coverage of Religious Accommodation in an Ontario Public School is accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education ______________________ _______________________________ Date Chair of the Thesis Examination Board ii Abstract This qualitative case study considers the weekly congregational Muslim prayers held at an Ontario public middle school and the widespread media and public reaction to them. Drawing primarily from the work of Said (1997, 2003), this research questions how and why the prayers became the source of controversy nearly four years after they commenced, and what, if any, impact this media and public reaction has had on the school community. Eight interviews were conducted, along with a critical analysis of the news coverage of the prayers. The results reveal the persistence of post-colonial discourse and prejudice towards Muslims and Islam in media and public perspectives, as well as a startling disconnect between the school community’s positive views of religious accommodation, and the public’s negative perceptions of them, particularly when Muslim students are involved. Keywords: Islam, Muslim, education, equity, media, Orientalism, anti-racism, religious accommodation, Islamophobia iii Dedication I would like to dedicate this thesis to my wonderful, generous, patient, and understanding parents who have always shown me nothing but unconditional love and support. You taught me to have faith in God and to always strive to do my best. This thesis, and everything leading up to it, would not be possible without you. JazakAllah khair. I love you. iv Acknowledgements “Whoever does not thank people has not thanked God, Mighty & Glorious is He” (At-Tirmidhi). To my thesis supervisor Dr. Goli Rezai-Rashti, for her kindness, patience, advice, guidance, and constant support. She has encouraged me to challenge myself and continue in my research, and I sincerely look forward to working with her in the future. Dr. Jason Brown, whose enthusiasm and encouragement throughout this process has meant a great deal. And to Dr. Roger Clark, my academic advisor who first taught me in teacher’s college, then in the M.Ed program. It was he who first encouraged me to pursue further graduate studies. Thank you- to my parents, who have put up with the long hours I have spent holed up in my room in front of my laptop. To my wonderful sister (and editor) Najia and brother-in-law Zan, who always welcomed me on my frequent trips to London, and who regularly went out of their way to return countless recalled library books for me, saving me time and more importantly, a lot of library fines. To my munchkins Hafsa and Ibrahim, who never fail to brighten up my day with their jokes, random trivia, and hugs. To my brother Omar and sister-in-law Amna, who patiently put up with me being in ‘thesis-mode’ during their last several visits. And of course, to Yusuf, the newest and cutest addition to our family, who is such a source of joy and blessings, Alhumdulillah. To all of my wonderful family in Pakistan, whose prayers, love, and support have meant so much. To my friends- my ‘person’ Mimi, Sana, Sara, Fadilah, Sunbal, and everyone else for encouraging and supporting me, for putting up with my nerdy conversations, long and random absences, unreturned phone calls, and postponed sushi dates. And to everyone else- Mr. & Mrs. Baig, Mariam, the PGMS community, the LIS community, my students who taught me more than I could have ever taught them, the teachers who inspired me, and all of the countless others-a very sincere thank you. v Table of Contents Certificate of Examination ............................................................................................... ii Abstract ............................................................................................................................. iii Dedication ......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. vi List of Tables .................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1: Introduction and Conceptual Framework ............................................. 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 The Rationale for this Research Study ....................................................................... 1 Considering the Existing Literature............................................................................ 2 The Research Questions ............................................................................................... 3 Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................ 4 Context ........................................................................................................................... 8 Muslim Students in the West ..................................................................................... 12 Chapter Summary ...................................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER 2: Literature Review .................................................................................. 16 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 16 The Separation of Church and State? ....................................................................... 17 Accommodation or Assimilation? ............................................................................. 28 Public vs. Private: The Growing Popularity of Separate Religious Schools ......... 31 Religious Discrimination & Post-Colonial Views of Islam and Muslims............... 35 The Veiled, Oppressed, “Other:” Muslim Women in Media and Public Perceptions................................................................................................................... 37 Muslims and Islam in the Popular Media ................................................................ 43 The Misrepresentation of Islam in School Textbooks, Curriculum, and Teachers’ Knowledge and/or Lessons ......................................................................................... 45 Chapter Summary ...................................................................................................... 50 CHAPTER 3: Methodology ........................................................................................... 53 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 53 Methodology ................................................................................................................ 53 The Rationale behind selecting Pine Grove Middle School .................................... 55 Data Collection ............................................................................................................ 57 Participants .................................................................................................................
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