“WHEN YOU WITNESS AN EVIL ACT, YOU SHOULD STOP IT WITH YOUR HAND.” CITIZENSHIP LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT OF MUSLIM YOUTH ACTIVISTS IN TORONTO, CANADA by Sameena Eidoo A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto © Copyright by Sameena Eidoo (2012) “WHEN YOU WITNESS AN EVIL ACT, YOU SHOULD STOP IT WITH YOUR HAND.” CITIZENSHIP LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT OF MUSLIM YOUTH ACTIVISTS IN TORONTO, CANADA Doctor of Philosophy 2012 Sameena Eidoo Graduate Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning University of Toronto Abstract This thesis is about being young, Muslim and politically engaged in contemporary Toronto, Canada. Young Muslims attempting to come to terms with the complex and contradictory promises of Canadian citizenship must confront what it means to “be Canadian”—a national identity marked by historical legacies of oppressions, and shaped by ideals of western liberal democracy. Post-9/11 Canada is marked by intensified suspicion and repression of Muslims and those who “look like” Muslims. This thesis examines how 18 young people, ages16 to 29, who self-identity as “Muslim” and “activist” learned “to reflect and act upon the world in order to transform it” (Freire, 1970). Through life history interview methods, this study attempts to capture how the participants had come to their political activism, critical experiences of learning inside and outside of schools that they understood as influential in shaping their political subjectivities and practices, the range of issues of injustice that concerned them, and the various actions they took to address those issues. The young Muslims expressed concern for and acted on access to quality affordable housing, police brutality, gender-based violence, Islamophobia and other forms of hate, and the question of Palestine. Their actions included creating safe spaces, (dis-) engaging formal systems of governance and public authority, providing public education, producing cultural narratives, and ii engaging in various forms of direct action. Their voices and stories maintain centrality throughout this work. This thesis is based on a broad definition of “education” that encompasses formal and non- formal education and informal learning. It is also based on the premise that “all education is citizenship education.” It demonstrates how the young Muslims’ multiple learning experiences in families, neighborhoods, communities, youth subcultures, social movements and school-- embedded in histories of war and migration—enable them to name and to take action to transform the concrete situations of oppression that impact them and their communities. Particularly important for the young Muslims were the cultural and political spaces in which they were able to critically and collectively explore and question their lived experiences, identities, and binding solidarities. iii Acknowledgements First and foremost, I thank the One for sustaining me in an often arduous but rewarding doctoral journey. As I continued along the journey, the list of people who offered support and encouragement along the way grew longer. I am indebted to Aamanee, Abdul-Haq, Aisha, Amina, Asmara, Bilal, Jamila, Karim, Khadijeh, Layaal, Maha, Maliha, Mustafa, Nabila, Salsabil, Talib, Zayn, and Zaynab—you know who you are. Your words brought this thesis to life, and transformed me as they drifted through my heart and mind. I hope that I have done justice to your jihads. To Dr. Karen Mundy, my thesis supervisor: Karen, thank you for being present when I needed your support and guidance, and for helping me realize my vision for this thesis. I admire the focus and commitment to excellence with which you approach your own scholarship. To committee member Dr. Sarfaroz Niyozov: Sarfaroz, thank you for asking thoughtful and provocative questions in response to my work. Based on my previous experience working with you in the classroom, I would not have expected otherwise! I appreciate the intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm you bring to your work with students. To committee member Dr. Kari Dehli: Kari, thank you for extending emotional support to me from wherever you were in the world-- Australia, England, India, New Zealand, and Norway! I admire your courage, integrity and compassion, and I am grateful to have you as a mentor and an ally. To Dr. Ali Abdi, my external examiner: Ali, thank you for your thoughtful appraisal of my thesis; it has given me a renewed energy and commitment, and a valuable new perspective on my work. Special thanks go to Dr. Lance McCready and Dr. Mark Evans, who took the time to read and respond to my thesis, and who have supported me in other ways. Lance, I admire you and what you stand for, and I trust you as a colleague and a friend. You helped me find my iv voice. It means so much me that you called in from New York City to participate in my examination. Mark, you have generously shared your time and resources with me over the years, and you have been someone I could always turn to for guidance. I want to thank my other teachers at OISE. Dr. Rubén Gaztembide-Fernández, thank you for keeping it real. Dr. Ruth Hayhoe and Dr. Vandra Masemann, thank you for your care and encouragement. Dr. Jim Cummins and Dr. Antoinette Gagné, your support in my early years of graduate studies gave me the confidence to carry on. Many remarkable women within and beyond OISE have offered crucial support and encouragement along the way. To Farahnaz Faez, Mira Gambhir and Clea Schmidt, with whom I shared a tiny closet of an office on the 10th floor of OISE many years ago: I am thankful for your enduring friendship. For reaching back when I reached out, special thanks go to Leila Angod, Zahra Bhanji, Salima Bhimani, Soma Chatterjee, Chandni Desai, Mona Ghali, Leigh-Anne Ingram, Kara Janigan, Angela MacDonald, Caroline Manion, Francine Menashy, Karen Pashby, Michelle Pon, Dominique Riviere, Tiisetso Russell, Malini Sivasubramaniam-Davis, Saskia Stille, Helen Tewolde, and Nadya Weber. To dear friends beyond, especially Aida Fahoum, Jolanta Garus, Stacey Hyde, Cisca McInnis, Ekua Quansah, and Stephanie Sodero: thank you for memories that take me as far back as high school and as far across the world as Kazakhstan, and for all the moments in between. I close my acknowledgements with the people who have always been there for me: my family. Heartfelt thanks and gratitude go to my brother, Khalid, to my father, Aslam, and to my extended Azmi-Rehmani family in India. Finally, to my first teacher Shama: Mom, thank you for believing in me from the very beginning. v Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements........................................................................................................................ iv Chapter One: Being Young, Muslim, And Politically Engaged In Toronto, Canada..................... 1 Conceptualizing Muslim Youth Citizenship............................................................................... 5 Design of the Thesis.................................................................................................................... 6 Landscape of the Thesis.............................................................................................................. 8 Structure of the Thesis ................................................................................................................ 9 Chapter Two: Conceptualizing and Situating Muslim Youth Citizenship ................................... 12 Part 1: Conceptual Framework ................................................................................................. 13 Cultural Citizenship .............................................................................................................. 14 Education for Liberation and Transformation ...................................................................... 18 Identity .................................................................................................................................. 24 Agency .................................................................................................................................. 27 Summary: Conceptualizing Muslim Youth Citizenship ....................................................... 31 Part 2: Situating Muslim Youth Citizenship............................................................................. 32 Citizenship Education and Learning in Schools ................................................................... 33 Citizenship Education and Learning in Homes and Neighborhoods .................................... 44 Identity and Belonging.......................................................................................................... 47 Agency and Active Citizenship............................................................................................. 54 Summary: Situating Muslim Youth Citizenship................................................................... 59 Chapter Three: The Political Participation of Muslims in Canada: A Brief History.................... 63 Can the Other Imagine “Canada”?........................................................................................ 64 Mid-20th Century to the Turn of the 20th Century..............................................................