Diaspora by Design: Muslim Immigrants in Canada and Beyond (review)

This book examines the settlement of peoples with Muslim backgrounds, originating in Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and Palestine. Whereas all four groups are studied in the primary Canadian context, they are also researched in comparative settings: Afghans in Iran, Iranians and Pakistanis in the UK, and Palestinians in Israeli-occupied territories and Jordan. The book “is aimed at making sense of the interacting elements that sharpen awareness of cultural marginality and assessing its impact on the sense of belonging and on the harmonious integration into the new country for the individuals involved” (xii).

The subjects’ status in countries of origin, Canada, and the comparative settings was examined in the context of the socio-economic development of the receiving country and its refugee, immigration, and settlement policies. Data was collected using questionnaires, oral interviews, and focus groups. The Canadian research locations were Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. Analyses of community publications, community organizations, and census data were also conducted.

Information on migration patterns, gender, marital status, education, employment, occupation, and income make for robust community profiles. The proportions of people with superior levels of educational attainment tended to be higher in Canada than in the other countries under study. This seems to indicate that a pecking order is in operation with respect to the preferred country of settlement, according to the authors: better educated and financially secure individuals have a better chance of settling in prosperous locations like Canada.

The influence of religion in shaping gender roles and hierarchies in families was studied. Whereas the findings were mixed regarding the behavioural effects of the subjects’ religious commitment, the majority of female respondents “said that the sharing of decision-making and the division of household responsibilities with their spouses were reasonable” (81). The authors state that variable social factors, other than religion, result in heterogeneity of behaviour among individuals in the various groups.

Youth in the four communities experience significant levels of discrimination in Canadian society, particularly with respect to the terrorist stereotype. Nevertheless, they “tend to become part of the fabric of Canada” (142), becoming familiar with language and customs, adopting popular Canadian views on contemporary issues and integrating into the dominant culture. Although most young respondents did not consider the place of settlement to be the “home” country, the proportion who did see the new land as home was higher than those among adults.

For the majority of respondents, “the key issues are the removal of barriers to their full involvements and integration in the economic, social, and political life of their new adopted country” (144). In Canada, Pakistanis reported the highest levels of occupational, educational, and financial satisfaction—although 26% of the males and 30% of the females had low levels of satisfaction. The lowest percentages were among the Iranians. These respective results are attributed not only to household incomes (which were high among Iranians), but also to “less tangible differences based on professional self-esteem and involvement in community life” (166). The findings also showed that the Pakistanis tended to adhere the most to religious practice among the four groups, and the Iranians the least.

The authors suggest that the failure to have efforts towards education and hard work rewarded socio-economically results in migrants maximizing connections with people of their own ethnic or religious backgrounds. This is true to a significant extent for the four groups under study because “the populations that originate in Muslim-majority countries seem to be in a worse position than other racialized minority groups” (171). However, members of the four groups face less hostility in Canada than in the other locations under study. Most respondents followed Canadian news, but there was a generally low level of political participation, with Pakistanis and Afghans being the most involved.

This study’s methodology is rigorous and could usefully be adopted for similar research on other migrant groups. More meticulous editing would have, however...