The War on Terror in Canada: Securitizing Muslims

Abstract

The securitization of Muslims has been an ongoing process in the “war on terror” discourse of the past 15 years. It has solidified the perception of Muslims as enemies in and of the West through a logic which creates hierarchies of belonging and undermines their claims to citizenship. In addition, securitization has expanded to include not only the state, but also members of society to be vigilant about threats and to protect the country through their everyday roles and activities. In this broader context, this paper critically examines the securitization of Muslims in the war on terror in Canada in the context of state concerns about violent radicalization among Muslim youth. While this has been an ongoing federal matter since 2011, when the Canadian government released its counter-terrorism policy, Canada did not have a centralized national Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) program. This creates space for Quebec to propose and implement its own Anti-Radicalization Plan (2015–2018). This paper undertakes an analysis of how the Quebec government’s counter-radicalization plan reframes the issue and expands it from being a political and legal issue into a social problem, reinforcing Quebec-specific concerns about diversity, identity and intercultural social relations between white francophone majorities and minority Muslim immigrant youth. The plan illustrates how securitization works as an expansive process that involves both the state and society by making national security the primary lens for the provision of health, education and related social services. It reinforces the social construction of Muslims as threats to the nation, and more broadly, to the West.