Yearning For Tawhid: Three Muslims’ Journeys In Justice Work In The Settler Colonial Context Of Toronto

Farah Ahmed

doi:10.32920/16606343.v1

Abstract

This critical narrative study seeks to explore two central research questions: 1) How do Muslim peoples understand, approach and engage in social justice work in and around Toronto and what are their experiences, and 2) What are the ways in which Islam and spirituality influence, impact and shape their social justice work? Using a lens that involves critical race theory, anti-colonialism and Islam, I delve deep into my own experiences and perspectives on Islam, spirituality and social justice work, as well as those of two other Muslim social justice advocates involved in Indigenous sovereignty, Black liberation and anti-Islamophobia movements. The findings of this study offer deep critical insights on the state of anti-oppressive and transformative social work and social justice spaces in the settler colonial context of Toronto. Central concepts explored in this work include dynamics of anger, significant relationships and Islamic concepts such as tawhid. It has been completed as partial completion of the Master of Social Work Program at Ryerson University.

Highlights

Among those We created is a community which guides by truth and thereby establishes justice. –Surah Al-A’raf: 181My father tells me every year on the day that I grow in age that I was born at maghrib during the month of Ramadan
I engaged in social justice work such as poverty-reduction organizing, environmental protection, and supporting Indigenous sovereignty movements as a student and social work practitioner, but without a strong connectedness to my own ancestral land, faith and culture
Concluding Thoughts This critical narrative study explored the ways in which Muslim social justice advocates in and around Toronto experience social justice spaces and movements, as well as the role of Islam in their approaches to such justice work

Summary

Introduction

Among those We created is a community which guides by truth and thereby establishes justice. –Surah Al-A’raf: 181My father tells me every year on the day that I grow in age that I was born at maghrib during the month of Ramadan. I engaged in social justice work such as poverty-reduction organizing, environmental protection, and supporting Indigenous sovereignty movements as a student and social work practitioner, but without a strong connectedness to my own ancestral land, faith and culture. This brought about overwhelming feelings of confusion and loss, and without strong anchoring in my identity and heritage, I often found myself following Western and colonial knowledge systems and practices that contradicted the greater intentions of the work I was partaking in. At the center of my return-to-self and relearning has been reigniting and nurturing my spirit through my Islamic faith

Objectives

Findings

Conclusion