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MWI-022_s15 | MWI-022 | CA | followup__how_do_you_understand_la_cit_and_how | HOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND LAÏCITÉ, AND HOW DOES IT AFFECT YOU? | I really like the traditional Catholic identity of Quebec, because it promoted belief in God in the daily life of people, so I appreciate that. I live just outside [CITY 1], in a place named after the Virgin Mary — that's Hazrat Maryam. I like that. Although the Muslim community has this thing where they say, oh, Chris... |
MWI-022_s16 | MWI-022 | CA | akhirah | HOW DOES YOUR AWARENESS OF THE AKHIRAH SHAPE THE WAY YOU LIVE? | Okay, well, I'm answerable. I have this understanding I received many years ago from a wonderful sheikh — not Sheikh Nazim, but another sheikh I studied with — who said you really don't have to worry about judging the actions of others. It's good to say something is wrong, it's good to speak truth to power, but you don... |
MWI-022_s17 | MWI-022 | CA | qadr_control | HOW DO YOU MAKE SENSE OF WHAT IS BEYOND YOUR CONTROL? | Again, it's in the will of Allah, and it's not something that as an individual I can control, not something I have a voice in — my saying "this is terrible" isn't going to be acknowledged by governments in power. I don't believe in activism, honestly. When I was a teenager, I used to go to protests about things I didn'... |
MWI-022_s18 | MWI-022 | CA | long_run_practice | WHAT MATTERS MOST FOR PRACTICING YOUR RELIGION IN THE LONG RUN? | What matters to me most is that they have a vital and living relationship with Allah. Because I believe if they have that, then Allah will be in their hearts, and if Allah is in their hearts, their deen will follow. When I was raising my daughters, I was perhaps too liberal, and they had friends whose parents were extr... |
MWI-022_s19 | MWI-022 | CA | followup__have_specific_laws_bill_21_bill_94_bill | HAVE SPECIFIC LAWS (BILL 21, BILL 94, BILL 9, ETC.) PERSONALLY AFFECTED YOU? | They've affected my community. Honestly, I think people are afraid. Many years ago, when we had Jumu'ah, we'd meet for picnics in the park, and we'd all be sitting there, and then the men would get up to pray, we'd put out a blanket, and the sisters would pray behind them — we prayed publicly, that was part of our asso... |
MWI-022_s20 | MWI-022 | CA | followup__do_you_feel_oppressed_by_the_state | DO YOU FEEL OPPRESSED BY THE STATE? | Absolutely, yeah, absolutely. It's like — it's like in communist countries. Yes, the experience here is different than the rest of Canada. |
MWI-022_s21 | MWI-022 | CA | submission | WHAT DOES SUBMISSION TO ALLAH MEAN TO YOU? | Aligning my intention with the will of Allah. |
MWI-022_s22 | MWI-022 | CA | heart_intention_practice | WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOUR HEART, INTENTION, AND OUTWARD PRACTICE? | It was my path. Initially, again, it's the way I came into Islam — I came in through Sufism, so I'd say that's informed by Sufi spirituality, and it's nurtured and encouraged by my interactions with other people aligned with these values — for instance, Abdul Hakim Murad, who teaches out of Cambridge Mosque, and to a c... |
MWI-022_s23 | MWI-022 | CA | liberation | WHERE IN YOUR LIFE DO YOU FEEL MOST LIBERATED? | Liberation — well, I guess when you die, inshallah, your spirit will be liberated from your existence in dunya, with all the struggles of dunya and all the suffering and pain and tribulation you undergo, so you'll be liberated then, inshallah. I just think you have to keep struggling — you get up every day, you do your... |
MWI-022_s24 | MWI-022 | CA | followup__who_gets_to_represent_muslim_women_in_research | WHO GETS TO REPRESENT MUSLIM WOMEN IN RESEARCH, MEDIA, OR AI? | As for the impact of AI — if AI can help us be more human and more accepting of our limitations and difficulties, then I think it can be a very positive thing, so I don't mind AI learning from me. AI is much better at quite a lot of things, but AI has nothing to do with faith — AI, unlike a human, does not have a heart... |
MWI-022_s25 | MWI-022 | CA | followup__has_wearing_hijab_created_barriers_in_education_or | HAS WEARING HIJAB CREATED BARRIERS IN EDUCATION OR EMPLOYMENT? | Oh god, no — never, never, I don't think you're allowed to attend [UNIVERSITY 1] as a hijabi, I don't think you would be. When I was there, they were openly racist, openly — I didn't survive, I left after two terms. I think there's probably a law about it — there was a whole thing about not being allowed to wear hijab ... |
MWI-023_s00 | MWI-023 | CA | ordinary_day | ORDINARY DAY AND WHERE FAITH SHOWS UP | I wake up — it depends if I have school or work or not — but I wake up, get ready for the day, and then if I have work, I go to work, if I have school, I go to school. If I have plans with my friends, I go to that. I can't really remember, because it's summer, so all my days look different, I don't really have much of ... |
MWI-023_s01 | MWI-023 | CA | describe_self_community | HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF AND YOUR COMMUNITY? | I think if I were to describe myself, I wouldn't necessarily start with my faith, although it is something people would see first because I wear hijab — I would start with the basics: we believe there's only one God, and the last messenger is Muhammad, peace be upon him. That actually came up a lot — I went on vacation... |
MWI-023_s02 | MWI-023 | CA | self_change_over_time | HOW HAS YOUR SENSE OF YOURSELF AS A MUSLIM WOMAN CHANGED OVER TIME? | I was born and raised where I live — always in [CITY 1]. Alhamdulillah, I don't think I've had some sort of identity crisis, I think I've had a very easy life when it comes to my faith. When I was very young, the political climate made people very Islamophobic, and I watched my mother struggle with that. That's kind of... |
MWI-023_s03 | MWI-023 | CA | living_here_practice | HOW DOES LIVING HERE SHAPE HOW YOU PRACTICE OR SHOW YOUR FAITH? | I don't have anything to compare it to, because I've never lived anywhere other than Quebec. I never thought it was much of a struggle until these laws — personally, I'm not affected by the laws about secularism, so it hasn't changed a lot about how I practice, but when it comes to prayer, the laws are starting to affe... |
MWI-023_s04 | MWI-023 | CA | followup__have_specific_laws_bill_21_bill_94_bill | HAVE SPECIFIC LAWS (BILL 21, BILL 94, BILL 9, ETC.) PERSONALLY AFFECTED YOU? | There are three laws. The first was Bill 21, which basically does not allow anyone who wears religious signs to work in a government job in a position of power — this affects lawyers who represent the court in Quebec, judges, police officers, and, really importantly, school teachers, because it's a female-dominated fie... |
MWI-023_s05 | MWI-023 | CA | hijab_journey | HOW DID YOU COME TO WEAR HIJAB, AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU? | I've worn hijab for almost four years now. My story was very spontaneous. I was sitting down — I was not a religious person, I was not practicing, unfortunately, almost at all. I did not dress modestly, I did not pray, though I did fast. I had a lot of struggle with religion and didn't care that much — I had some feeli... |
MWI-023_s06 | MWI-023 | CA | misconceptions | WHAT DO PEOPLE GET WRONG ABOUT MUSLIM WOMEN OR HIJAB? | Yes, a lot. I think people have a lot of misconceptions about hijab and Muslim women — people think we are oppressed, brainwashed, that we don't have agency, that we're submissive, that all women who wear hijab are one type of woman — quiet, submissive, kind of childlike, reduced to a childlike state because we wear it... |
MWI-023_s07 | MWI-023 | CA | seeking_knowledge | DO YOU SEEK RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE, AND HOW? | I already had the basics — my mom put me in Quranic school, and my parents taught me religion — but I wanted to rework the basics, and I'm still on this journey. I started to wear hijab at a time when I saw a lot of people converting to Islam online, and I decided to pretend I was a revert and start truly from the basi... |
MWI-023_s08 | MWI-023 | CA | difficulty_and_faith | TELL ME ABOUT A DIFFICULTY AND HOW FAITH HELPED YOU MEET IT | Right now I'm struggling with finding a job. I have little jobs, so I have a steady stream of income, alhamdulillah, but it's still very small. I'm used to having multiple jobs at the same time for a bigger income, and being busier — right now the job that's usually my main job, I don't have, so I'm underemployed, stil... |
MWI-023_s09 | MWI-023 | CA | expectations | WHAT INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL EXPECTATIONS ARE PLACED ON MUSLIM WOMEN? | Yes, a lot — internal and external. We have expectations from our community and from outside it, and it's truly a lot of pressure, because we have everything coming at us — Islamophobia, patriarchy, and the two coming together, an intersectional experience. Within our community, depending on where you are and who you t... |
MWI-023_s10 | MWI-023 | CA | responsibility_bonds | WHO DO YOU FEEL RESPONSIBLE TO, AND HOW DO THOSE BONDS SHAPE YOUR CHOICES? | It depends what my role is in that case, but generally I feel responsible towards my family. I feel like we owe something to everyone — I don't have a very individualistic mindset, I love community, I love helping out and being there for people, so I do feel a sense of responsibility for a lot of people around me. I gu... |
MWI-023_s11 | MWI-023 | CA | role_family_community | WHAT IS YOUR ROLE IN YOUR FAMILY AND COMMUNITY? | There's not a specific one, I just use my skills to help in any way I can. With my family, I'm very present, emotionally and physically as much as I can be — they're people I care about, so I want to be there for them and help them as much as they need. It comes from a place of care rather than obligation. I know I'm a... |
MWI-023_s12 | MWI-023 | CA | belonging | WHAT DOES BELONGING FEEL LIKE HERE? | I wouldn't say I feel like I belong in the Quebec community as a Quebecer — I would say I am a Quebecer, but it depends who's asking. Seeing as we're very obviously not accepted by a lot of Quebecers, when people ask where I'm from, I give them my parents' nationality, even though I was born here. But if someone told m... |
MWI-023_s13 | MWI-023 | CA | akhirah | HOW DOES YOUR AWARENESS OF THE AKHIRAH SHAPE THE WAY YOU LIVE? | It shapes fully what I think. Whenever I'm going through something hard, I remind myself that this life is temporary and very short compared to the Akhirah — whatever trouble I'm going through, I'm going to die in a few years, inshallah, maybe ten, twenty, thirty, it doesn't matter, even if I live to be a hundred it's ... |
MWI-023_s14 | MWI-023 | CA | qadr_control | HOW DO YOU MAKE SENSE OF WHAT IS BEYOND YOUR CONTROL? | I have a lot of trouble with that, because I do love control, but I try to tell myself that everything is beyond my control, in a good way — that I just have to learn to let go, that the only thing I can control is myself, and I will do my best, and what happens, happens. You just have to believe that God truly loves y... |
MWI-023_s15 | MWI-023 | CA | long_run_practice | WHAT MATTERS MOST FOR PRACTICING YOUR RELIGION IN THE LONG RUN? | I really hope the laws are reversed, and that we can openly (practice) — because where it's going in Quebec, they're trying to erase Muslim women, to erase religion from the public eye. I feel nervous, and I really hope it doesn't get as far as it has in France, because I know that's their goal, as they say very openly... |
MWI-023_s16 | MWI-023 | CA | followup__how_do_you_understand_la_cit_and_how | HOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND LAÏCITÉ, AND HOW DOES IT AFFECT YOU? | I do believe in laïcité, just not the way it's done in Quebec — the way it's done in the rest of Canada. I think it's good to separate religion from the state, but the laïcité present in Quebec is what we call, in the rest of Canada, "une laïcité ouverte," an open secularism, where the state and the church are separate... |
MWI-023_s17 | MWI-023 | CA | heart_intention_practice | WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOUR HEART, INTENTION, AND OUTWARD PRACTICE? | I try to connect with God while I do these practices. Sometimes it's not very easy or obvious, but when it does work, when I do feel a connection with God as I'm doing an act of worship, I feel very good inside, like my soul is elevating. (My intention is) to worship God, so it helps inwardly — when you change your int... |
MWI-023_s18 | MWI-023 | CA | submission | WHAT DOES SUBMISSION TO ALLAH MEAN TO YOU? | Submitting to His will, to whatever happens — that is what happened, it's out of my control. This is primarily what I struggle with, accepting the lack of control, so submitting to Allah, to me, means releasing control, letting go, learning to let go a little. It's kind of like the secular idea of manifestation, leavin... |
MWI-023_s19 | MWI-023 | CA | liberation | WHERE IN YOUR LIFE DO YOU FEEL MOST LIBERATED? | I think none of us will be liberated until all of us are liberated — from all the systems of domination, imperialism, patriarchy, capitalism, white supremacy. Until we're collectively liberated, we won't be liberated individually. In the meantime, until that happens, inshallah, detaching from the world helps you feel l... |
MWI-023_s20 | MWI-023 | CA | followup__do_you_feel_oppressed_by_the_state | DO YOU FEEL OPPRESSED BY THE STATE? | Yes, they are (oppressive). The laws take away from Muslims, not just from people who wear religious signs — they take away choices in life, the ability to participate in society, to have a job. They take our rights away, so by definition it's oppressive. And paired with the media discourse, it leads to a dehumanizatio... |
MWI-024_s00 | MWI-024 | CA | ordinary_day | ORDINARY DAY AND WHERE FAITH SHOWS UP | I'll do during the school year. Usually I get up, get ready, and I have a work shift — I usually work at a Muslim summer camp, and right now it's a summer camp, but during the year it's a school, so I usually have a two- or three-hour shift there, and then I go to my university classes at [UNIVERSITY 1]. I come home, d... |
MWI-024_s01 | MWI-024 | CA | describe_self_community | HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF AND YOUR COMMUNITY? | I think for someone who has never met a Muslim, I would say everything we do revolves around intent. Being Muslim first and foremost means someone who has submitted their will to God, so whatever we're trying to do, it's for the will of God. If I were to go more into our religious beliefs, I'd say it revolves around be... |
MWI-024_s02 | MWI-024 | CA | self_change_over_time | HOW HAS YOUR SENSE OF YOURSELF AS A MUSLIM WOMAN CHANGED OVER TIME? | I was born and raised in [CITY 1], I've lived here my whole life. How has it changed over time — I would say more or less it has stayed the same. I went to a hyper-Christian school ([PROTESTANT DENOMINATION]), and that made me very vigilant of my identity, so it's something I had to decide and settle early on in life. ... |
MWI-024_s03 | MWI-024 | CA | living_here_practice | HOW DOES LIVING HERE SHAPE HOW YOU PRACTICE OR SHOW YOUR FAITH? | I think it made me practice more vigilantly, because especially at the Christian school I felt like I was the only one — the only Muslim, the only hijabi — so I felt the need to show a good example. If I was about to do something disrespectful, or that didn't align with my values — say I'm at the metro and my classmate... |
MWI-024_s04 | MWI-024 | CA | seeking_knowledge | DO YOU SEEK RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE, AND HOW? | Yes, I do a lot of self-study — whatever I learn at the mosque, if there are any halaqas or religious gatherings. I think the biggest source these days is YouTube, any courses you can find online — I can name some scholars if that would be helpful, some of the most famous ones, almost like influencers, they have long s... |
MWI-024_s05 | MWI-024 | CA | hijab_journey | HOW DID YOU COME TO WEAR HIJAB, AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU? | So this is kind of unconventional, but I'm from Pakistan, and in Pakistan it's common to wear — not on your head, but a shawl on your shoulders. I remember in elementary school, before I started wearing hijab, I went to Pakistan and saw everyone wearing it, so I started wearing a shawl around my neck or shoulders. But ... |
MWI-024_s06 | MWI-024 | CA | followup__has_wearing_hijab_created_barriers_in_education_or | HAS WEARING HIJAB CREATED BARRIERS IN EDUCATION OR EMPLOYMENT? | Well, this story is from about ten years ago, when I was in high school, so I don't know if they've had to change it now — it was also a private school, so I don't think the same legislation applies, so of course it's very different. I do worry, though, that if they continue making these regulations stricter and strict... |
MWI-024_s07 | MWI-024 | CA | misconceptions | WHAT DO PEOPLE GET WRONG ABOUT MUSLIM WOMEN OR HIJAB? | Oh yeah, for sure — I've had a lot of instances where people assume certain things, like that I'm oppressed in some way, or being forced to wear it. I've had this conversation with many people — my family never influenced me in any shape or form to wear it. My mother wears it now, but when I started wearing it, she was... |
MWI-024_s08 | MWI-024 | CA | difficulty_and_faith | TELL ME ABOUT A DIFFICULTY AND HOW FAITH HELPED YOU MEET IT | It was an interview for a specific program — you have to pass several stages, examinations, grades, and so on, so getting to the interview level was very difficult, with CV checks and all that, and then I did not clear the interview. That was very difficult for me, because I really felt like I had spent the last four y... |
MWI-024_s09 | MWI-024 | CA | expectations | WHAT INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL EXPECTATIONS ARE PLACED ON MUSLIM WOMEN? | Internal expectations, yeah, definitely — expectations revolving around family, family values, are placed on us in the Muslim community. Having children, having a family, I think that's an expectation placed on women. Other expectations — especially regarding hijab, maybe it's more of an issue with the younger communit... |
MWI-024_s10 | MWI-024 | CA | responsibility_bonds | WHO DO YOU FEEL RESPONSIBLE TO, AND HOW DO THOSE BONDS SHAPE YOUR CHOICES? | My parents, definitely, my mom and dad. Before taking any decision, I would ask them for permission — if it's a job offer, for example, I would consult them before taking academic decisions too, so just consulting them before any major decision, that's the main way it impacts things. And of course, if they encourage me... |
MWI-024_s11 | MWI-024 | CA | role_family_community | WHAT IS YOUR ROLE IN YOUR FAMILY AND COMMUNITY? | My role in my family — well, I'm the eldest child, so I do take it upon myself to set the example. In my community, as an Islamic school teacher, there are certain responsibilities I have, setting a good example, following the rules within the religion, setting the right values for the children I teach. It varies — I'v... |
MWI-024_s12 | MWI-024 | CA | belonging | WHAT DOES BELONGING FEEL LIKE HERE? | What does it mean to belong to Quebec — I guess it would raise the question, do I feel like I belong to Quebec? No. I think my values are different from Quebec's, even though I grew up here. Given all the rules and regulations, and now they're even banning halal food in schools, it's clear that they don't want someone ... |
MWI-024_s13 | MWI-024 | CA | followup__do_you_feel_you_belong_here_are_you | DO YOU FEEL YOU BELONG HERE — ARE YOU SEEN AS FRENCH/QUEBECOIS? | At (university), I was just walking around campus one day and someone visiting said, oh, I moved recently into this neighborhood, and I was just seeing the place as a university campus. I said, yes, it's a university campus, here's the main building, here's this — it was near the biology center building, and they were ... |
MWI-024_s14 | MWI-024 | CA | followup__is_the_relationship_between_your_faith_and_quebec | IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOUR FAITH AND QUEBEC STRAINED? | The relationship is strained. It's not that they don't give us religious freedom — there is religious freedom, they just want us to keep it indoors, and to a certain degree I'd say they have the right to say that. For example, I think it would be wrong of us to say, we want to give the adhan loudly in the neighborhoods... |
MWI-024_s15 | MWI-024 | CA | followup__how_and_where_are_you_able_to_pray | HOW AND WHERE ARE YOU ABLE TO PRAY DURING YOUR DAY? | Yes. However, before, they've always let us pray — we have a prayer room, it was amazing, and they let us rent out a bigger room for Jumu'ah on Fridays. However, recently the government has tried to close down our prayer room, I think twice during the semester, and more times at other universities I've heard of. At our... |
MWI-024_s16 | MWI-024 | CA | akhirah | HOW DOES YOUR AWARENESS OF THE AKHIRAH SHAPE THE WAY YOU LIVE? | Kind of tying back to what I said before, I live with intent. So if I have free time, I will try to do something productive, something that will help with my akhirah. If I feel like anything I do might negatively impact my akhirah, I think about that. It influences what I do, what I say, what I watch, what kind of frie... |
MWI-024_s17 | MWI-024 | CA | qadr_control | HOW DO YOU MAKE SENSE OF WHAT IS BEYOND YOUR CONTROL? | Just like what I said about the interview — to me, it's always beyond my control, Allah is in control, He's the one who plans everything, so it'll work out for me in the end. If I can't change it, I'm not going to stress about it. |
MWI-024_s18 | MWI-024 | CA | long_run_practice | WHAT MATTERS MOST FOR PRACTICING YOUR RELIGION IN THE LONG RUN? | Well, of course, for me it's being able to show my identity. I know I might be very comfortable with mine, but it's not the same for the younger generation growing up in public schools, hearing things like, oh, yesterday government officials couldn't wear hijab, today it's educators who can't wear it anymore. I'm defin... |
MWI-024_s19 | MWI-024 | CA | followup__how_do_you_understand_la_cit_and_how | HOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND LAÏCITÉ, AND HOW DOES IT AFFECT YOU? | It's definitely a barrier, I would say, because of this value — I don't know if I'd call it a value exactly, but this idea that's very prominent in Quebec culture, it's a word we hear all the time. It means keeping your beliefs private, not showing them in any shape, way, or form. |
MWI-024_s20 | MWI-024 | CA | followup__have_specific_laws_bill_21_bill_94_bill | HAVE SPECIFIC LAWS (BILL 21, BILL 94, BILL 9, ETC.) PERSONALLY AFFECTED YOU? | Just one incident, where a woman said, oh, soon, in the metro, soon you won't be allowed to wear it. Other than that, it hasn't impacted my career or education or anything. It was very random — I submitted this as a report to [MUSLIM ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION 1] as well. She was preaching, had a Bible in her hand — sometim... |
MWI-024_s21 | MWI-024 | CA | followup__do_you_feel_oppressed_by_the_state | DO YOU FEEL OPPRESSED BY THE STATE? | Oppression is taking away someone's power, and I don't think they're able to do that — I think oppressed is a strong word, I wouldn't say oppressed, but it does affect our quality of living, definitely, taking away some of our freedoms. But not oppression, I wouldn't say it oppresses us. |
MWI-024_s22 | MWI-024 | CA | submission | WHAT DOES SUBMISSION TO ALLAH MEAN TO YOU? | Submission to Allah means accepting whatever comes your way, not questioning it, not saying why, why me, why did this happen to me — accepting His rules and His commands. |
MWI-024_s23 | MWI-024 | CA | liberation | WHERE IN YOUR LIFE DO YOU FEEL MOST LIBERATED? | It kind of depends what sense you mean, but in general — being free to practice your beliefs, not being constrained by other people's values or beliefs. Yes, I do feel liberated. |
MWI-024_s24 | MWI-024 | CA | followup__can_someone_report_you_for_wearing_hijab_in | CAN SOMEONE REPORT YOU FOR WEARING HIJAB IN QUEBEC? | Workplaces can — public schools, but I'm not working in a public school. Universities, as a student, no — we have full liberty to wear it as students, it's just as workers in the public sector. Someone could report it to HR, but I don't think there's anything they could do to report you to the government, for example, ... |
MWI-025_s00 | MWI-025 | CA | ordinary_day | ORDINARY DAY AND WHERE FAITH SHOWS UP | At the moment I am in summer school and I'm also working, and I have a roommate who's also a hijabi Muslim woman like myself. Usually I'll wake up around 5:30 — sometimes I'll miss Fajr, but I do my best to pray on time most days. I take Arabic classes with a teacher in Egypt, so I have my classes usually at six for an... |
MWI-025_s01 | MWI-025 | CA | describe_self_community | HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF AND YOUR COMMUNITY? | I feel like a lot of existing as a Muslim woman is really hard to put into words, because I find myself trying to prove myself to my own Muslim community and also to non-Muslims a lot of the time. I would describe myself as a student before anything, and I find that to be a very important part of my faith too — my stud... |
MWI-025_s02 | MWI-025 | CA | self_change_over_time | HOW HAS YOUR SENSE OF YOURSELF AS A MUSLIM WOMAN CHANGED OVER TIME? | I've lived here my whole life. My family is in Palestine, but I've grown up here — I used to visit them regularly, up until the war started; in 2023 I'd visited maybe five or six times before then. I'd say the hijab definitely changed me a lot, because it changed how other people treated me, which in turn changed the w... |
MWI-025_s03 | MWI-025 | CA | living_here_practice | HOW DOES LIVING HERE SHAPE HOW YOU PRACTICE OR SHOW YOUR FAITH? | It's really blatant in some ways — there are laws that prevent me from practicing my faith to a degree. I'm a student, and this coming fall, Bill 9 is about to shut down all the prayer rooms on university campuses, so that's going to be really major in terms of how I structure my days at school as a practicing Muslim w... |
MWI-025_s04 | MWI-025 | CA | followup__has_wearing_hijab_created_barriers_in_education_or | HAS WEARING HIJAB CREATED BARRIERS IN EDUCATION OR EMPLOYMENT? | Muslim women, I feel like we gravitate towards careers in education — I'm not a sociologist, but I see a trend, there are a lot of Muslim women in my program and in this field generally. I feel really disappointed, because the laws here now are saying that no one can wear religious symbols even into schools — even if t... |
MWI-025_s05 | MWI-025 | CA | followup__have_you_experienced_hostility_for_being_visibly_muslim | HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED HOSTILITY FOR BEING VISIBLY MUSLIM? | I've had people spit at me, I've had people call me a pedophile-worshipper randomly — at one point I was just walking down the street near my house and a man passed me and spat at my feet and said something under his breath. I've had people come at me on the metro, always a man — I had a man corner me and swear at me f... |
MWI-025_s06 | MWI-025 | CA | seeking_knowledge | DO YOU SEEK RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE, AND HOW? | Yeah, I try to. I don't feel super proud of myself recently, I've kind of let that go, but I used to do halaqas at the masjid I go to, and I have some apps I follow for sort of Duolingo-style Islamic lessons. Also, in my Arabic classes, I see that as a big part of improving my ability to read Quran, because I grew up h... |
MWI-025_s07 | MWI-025 | CA | hijab_journey | HOW DID YOU COME TO WEAR HIJAB, AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU? | I never had any pressure from my family. I wanted to for a long time, but I ended up putting it on only a couple of years ago — I was in university when I did. Funny enough, it was quite spontaneous — I was having a bad hair day, feeling really overstimulated by my hair kept getting in my face, and I was complaining ab... |
MWI-025_s08 | MWI-025 | CA | misconceptions | WHAT DO PEOPLE GET WRONG ABOUT MUSLIM WOMEN OR HIJAB? | I think a lot of people assume that I had this big family pressure and grew into it, or got over it, but my family is so relaxed about religion, very open to different faiths and lifestyles, and I think that played a big part in how resolute I am now, because I was able to really consider every possibility growing up a... |
MWI-025_s09 | MWI-025 | CA | responding_to_portrayals | HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO WRONG PORTRAYALS OF MUSLIM WOMEN? | A little bit disappointed, depending on how old the person is — if it's a kid, I usually think, oh, this is a great learning opportunity, but when it's coming from someone my age, I think, come on, you've been here long enough, you should have encountered enough Muslim women to know what's actually motivating our decis... |
MWI-025_s10 | MWI-025 | CA | difficulty_and_faith | TELL ME ABOUT A DIFFICULTY AND HOW FAITH HELPED YOU MEET IT | I really struggled to secure an internship so I could set up my last year of studies. I had to do a lot of networking, speaking to people, sending emails to my department and different daycares, just to set up something I think a lot of other girls in my class get on the first try, just to be able to graduate. That was... |
MWI-025_s11 | MWI-025 | CA | expectations | WHAT INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL EXPECTATIONS ARE PLACED ON MUSLIM WOMEN? | We all have to assess Islamic teachings on our own — there's no forcing a woman to behave a certain way, and I think a lot of that comes from experiencing things and understanding them, whether through speaking to other Muslim women or not. I felt like when I put the hijab on — I used to do a lot of sports, and suddenl... |
MWI-025_s12 | MWI-025 | CA | responsibility_bonds | WHO DO YOU FEEL RESPONSIBLE TO, AND HOW DO THOSE BONDS SHAPE YOUR CHOICES? | My parents. I feel very responsible to not disappoint them, to make sure I set myself up well so they can have a good rest of their lives, especially coming from what they've come from. It's so important to me that what they've gone through has led to an overall good in my life, and alhamdulillah, I really think it has... |
MWI-025_s13 | MWI-025 | CA | role_family_community | WHAT IS YOUR ROLE IN YOUR FAMILY AND COMMUNITY? | I see my role as having to transfer a lot of generational information — I try to speak to my grandmother a lot, she's still in Palestine — and I put a lot of pressure on myself to help my community, sometimes to my own detriment. I sacrifice a lot of myself to protect people, a lot of labor to give them opportunities, ... |
MWI-025_s14 | MWI-025 | CA | belonging | WHAT DOES BELONGING FEEL LIKE HERE? | In Quebec, I think it just means not feeling scared — really trusting that there's equal accountability for people who might do something hateful towards me, as if they'd done it to any other person. I don't want to feel like an exception, I don't want to feel like there's added legislation specifically for me, whether... |
MWI-025_s15 | MWI-025 | CA | followup__do_you_feel_you_belong_here_are_you | DO YOU FEEL YOU BELONG HERE — ARE YOU SEEN AS FRENCH/QUEBECOIS? | Some people do, and then other people say, go back to your country. I think a lot of people presume, when they see someone wearing hijab or a Muslim, that we've come here from somewhere else, and they might not necessarily mean anything hateful by it, but I think even the most well-meaning person doesn't necessarily se... |
MWI-025_s16 | MWI-025 | CA | followup__what_do_you_miss_about_practicing_your_faith | WHAT DO YOU MISS ABOUT PRACTICING YOUR FAITH OPENLY? | I wish I lived somewhere where I could hear the Adhan, where people were praying on the streets, where during Ramadan shops don't close at night — sometimes it's really lonely here, especially during religious holidays, and sometimes just on regular days, I wish my religion was more visible. I get really homesick when ... |
MWI-025_s17 | MWI-025 | CA | followup__how_and_where_are_you_able_to_pray | HOW AND WHERE ARE YOU ABLE TO PRAY DURING YOUR DAY? | Always in the musalla at school — we have a prayer room in one of the buildings on our downtown campus, and also at our other campus. The university hasn't told us yet how they're going to enforce it, but it's not going to be allowed to be used for prayer, that's what they've told us. The rooms will stay, but they won'... |
MWI-025_s18 | MWI-025 | CA | akhirah | HOW DOES YOUR AWARENESS OF THE AKHIRAH SHAPE THE WAY YOU LIVE? | Sometimes it snaps me back into focus — I spend a lot of time scrolling, and I definitely shouldn't. I get these bursts of motivation sometimes, always at the most random time, and I feel like I need to get my life together, that I'm so far behind, doing so many things wrong, and I wish I could leave this place and liv... |
MWI-025_s19 | MWI-025 | CA | qadr_control | HOW DO YOU MAKE SENSE OF WHAT IS BEYOND YOUR CONTROL? | That Allah is there — I actually feel really calm when things are not in my control, it's when I feel like I could have done something differently that I find it really, really difficult. But that was something my parents really hammered into me from when I was young, that you do what you can and then you leave the res... |
MWI-025_s20 | MWI-025 | CA | long_run_practice | WHAT MATTERS MOST FOR PRACTICING YOUR RELIGION IN THE LONG RUN? | I think just maintaining as much of it as I can, not losing or sacrificing anything that Allah has commanded from us for comfort in dunya here. I really don't want to find myself in a position where I look back and realize I've compromised aspects of my faith and how I practice, just to fit in better. So for me it's le... |
MWI-025_s21 | MWI-025 | CA | followup__how_do_you_understand_la_cit_and_how | HOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND LAÏCITÉ, AND HOW DOES IT AFFECT YOU? | I think it's just the fake way of — I mean, Quebec is founded on the Catholic Church, we have a [PROMINENT CHRISTIAN LANDMARK] at the center of [CITY 1], and our holidays at school are based around Christmas and Easter. And somehow they think it's convincing to tell us that these laws banning Muslim women from places a... |
MWI-025_s22 | MWI-025 | CA | followup__how_are_muslim_women_adapting_their_career_plans | HOW ARE MUSLIM WOMEN ADAPTING THEIR CAREER PLANS? | Most of us are just changing our career goals. A lot of girls are saying, oh, I'm not going to be a teacher then, I'll do that instead, or, I'm going to do grad school in [PROVINCE 2] because I can't stay here and be a teacher — that's the running theme, not so much people saying, how are we going to combat this, altho... |
MWI-025_s23 | MWI-025 | CA | followup__which_professions_are_affected_by_these_laws | WHICH PROFESSIONS ARE AFFECTED BY THESE LAWS? | Not at all — it's specific targeting of teachers working in public schools. I can't remember specifically where the line is drawn, but my understanding is it has to do with a balance of power — if you're in a position where you're an educator or holding authority over someone, you're not able to wear it. I don't think ... |
MWI-025_s24 | MWI-025 | CA | followup__do_you_feel_oppressed_by_the_state | DO YOU FEEL OPPRESSED BY THE STATE? | In Quebec? Yeah, one hundred percent. |
MWI-025_s25 | MWI-025 | CA | heart_intention_practice | WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOUR HEART, INTENTION, AND OUTWARD PRACTICE? | I have some goals — I want to memorize Quran inshallah, and I want to have kids, and I really want to feel confident that when I get married, inshallah, I can be a good teacher of the religion to them. Sometimes the way I think of it is that I'm gathering knowledge that I can pass on, and obviously so I can implement i... |
MWI-025_s26 | MWI-025 | CA | submission | WHAT DOES SUBMISSION TO ALLAH MEAN TO YOU? | It means not always needing to know the answer. That's deep — yeah, I don't know if I can really go much more into that. |
MWI-025_s27 | MWI-025 | CA | liberation | WHERE IN YOUR LIFE DO YOU FEEL MOST LIBERATED? | I understand it as the freedom to have all your needs met enough to discover yourself on your own terms — literally, to rid yourself of external influence on your own agency. When I am back home, or with my family, when I'm closest to my Palestinian culture and that way of living, I feel the most comfortable, the most ... |
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