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ROSHAN JAMAL: FAITH WITHOUT BOUNDARIES
Roshan Jamal grew up in a traditional Muslim family in India. When she settled in Toronto with her husband Hussein she had difficulties finding a mosque where women and men were treated equally.
Then Roshan met a philanthropist called Hassanali Lakhani who yearned to establish an Islamic community centre where Muslims could practice Islam as it was practiced at the time of the Prophet Mohammed: with a stress on justice and gender equality.
It was a struggle, but by 2004, the two would open the doors to the innovative Noor Cultural Centre in Toronto where women and men could pray and study together in an open and democratic environment. In the past year the centre has grown increasingly popular with Muslims of all cultural backgrounds and sects.
Photo: Roshan Jamal, CEO of Noor Cultural Centre
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Muslims have been immigrating to Canada since the 1850s. In the early days, they were called “Mohammedans” and they came to pan for gold, work on the railways, or start their own businesses. And yet, in 1931 the Census of Canada registered just 645 Muslim residents.
In those early years, Muslim women played a strong role in their community. In the early 1930s it was a group of women in Edmonton, Alberta, that organised the construction of North America’s very first Mosque. The Al Rashid Mosque was completed in 1938.
Today there are over 250 thousand Muslims in Canada and the community is rich in ethnic and cultural diversity. There are Muslims from China, the Philippines, the Balkans, Ukraine, Western and Eastern Europe, India, Pakistan and South America.
Photo: The Al Rashid Mosque in Alberta opened in 1938.
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- The Muslim community is scattered around the city, but there is a concentration of Muslim shops in Toronto’s lively Little India where you can buy Islamic art and books. There are Muslims that come from many parts of the world including Pakistan, India and Indonesia. In Little India you can taste foods and sweets from these countries and there are shops selling traditional Indian and Pakistani dresses. It’s a fun place to spend an afternoon.
- The Noor Cultural Centre has lectures, debates, film, music and cultural events and it welcomes visitors of all religious and cultural backgrounds. The people at the centre are incredibly friendly, the events are excellent, and often the community serves home-made traditional snacks at special events. Soon Noor’s website will be online with a listing of upcoming events, but in the meantime you can call the centre for more information.
Photo: Friday prayer services at the Noor Cultural Centre
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LITTLE INDIA
Gerrard St around Coxwell Ave, Greenwood Ave and Main St.
TTC: Coxwell Station, then streetcar southbound on Main St.
Telephone: +1 (416) 463-3111
www.gerrardindiabazaar.com
CULTURAL CENTRE
The Noor Cultural Centre
123 Wynford Drive
At DVP and Eglinton
Telephone: +1 (416) 444 7148
MUSLIM WOMEN’S GROUP
Canadian Council of Muslim Women
P.O.Box 154, Gananoque, Ontario K7G 2T7
Telephone: +1 (613) 382 2847
http://www.ccmw.com/
INDIAN-CANADIAN RESOURCES
Resources for Indian Community
Telephone:
http://www.mastindia.com/toronto.html
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SCN
Tue, December 19, 2006 @ 8:30 pm (CST)
channel m
Sun, November 26, 2006 @ 11:00 am ()
Mon, November 20, 2006 @ 8:30 am ()
Tue, July 4, 2006 @ 1:00 pm (PDT)
Sun, April 16, 2006 @ 9:30 pm (PST)
Sun, April 9, 2006 @ 9:30 pm (PST)
Sun, March 26, 2006 @ 9:30 pm (PST)
SCN
Tue, December 20, 2005 @ 10:00 pm ()
Canadian Learning Television
Mon, December 5, 2005 @ 9:30 pm (EST)
SCN
Tue, November 22, 2005 @ 10:00 pm (CST)
TVOntario
Sat, July 2, 2005 @ 12:30 pm (EST)
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Post-viewing Questions
1. When Roshan was a young girl living in a small village in the Gujarati province of India her strongest wish was to go to school. Her father and mother conspired with teachers in order to make a plan whereby Roshan could become educated and not offend society by being present at school daily. How has Roshan’s education affected her family and community?
2. Are there still places in the world where the education of young girls is not encouraged? In societies that do not support the education of girls and women, what impact does the lack of educated women have on families, communities and society at large?
3. Some of the commentators in the film claim that conservative elements in the Islamic tradition do not value gender equality. What other religious conservative elements in other religions do not value equality between men and women?
4. When the Jamal family moved to Toronto, they moved into a neighbourhood that had many Jewish residents. What did they learn from their Jewish neighbours? What does this sharing of knowledge and aspirations teach us about the value of multiculturalism?
5. The Noor Centre is trying to bring Muslims together and to foster a tolerance between the Shia and Sunni sects. Why do Muslims feel such a need to come together in Canada at the present time- especially after 9/11?
6. Roshan Jamal is one of the few women leaders of a Muslim body in Toronto. What qualities does she have that enables her to forge forward despite resistance and criticism? What role did her education have in the development of these qualities? What might her daughter think - and feel - about Roshan’s leadership? Do you think that Roshan is a role model for young women at the Noor Centre? Could she be a role model for you?
7. At the Noor Centre, where Roshan is the CEO, some women decide to “cover”, that is cover their hair and head with a scarf or hijab and others choose not to cover. Why is the symbolic act of covering such an emotive one? What kind of treatment do women face when they decide to “cover” both from within their community and from others outside their community?
Research Topics
1. Write a brief synopsis of the fundamental tenets of Islam.
2. What is Sharia Law? Is it a good idea to allow for alternate, religious- based civil dispute resolutions? What other alternate dispute resolutions have been used in Ontario? How might Sharia Law differ from those other dispute resolutions?
3. Cite an example of another country or another culture where the full education of girls is not encouraged.
Additional Research Question:
This film tells the story of a woman who is a role model to women in her family and in her community. Who, in your life has been a role model? If you would like to share the story about this person with other young people to whom you think this story might act as a beacon, please add it to the website www.mothertongue.ca. Alternately, if you would like to read stories that others have posted, please click on the website and become a part of a dialogue about the importance of role models.
Note:
These starting points for discussion and research questions were written by Dr. Carole Ann Reed, an educational consultant. Dr. Reed has worked as a human rights educator for almost twenty years in the Toronto area and has authored and co-authored many articles, curricula, and educational kits as well as a book. The topics she writes about include issues such as the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, women’s rights and anti-racism. For several years she was the Director of the Holocaust Centre of Toronto.
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This series of educational videos was made possible with funding from
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Mother Tongue: A woman's history of ethnic Canada is a 13-part TV series that documents Canada's multicultural history from a female perspective. Each program tells the story of a notable woman in one of Canada's communities, including a Black fugitive slave, an Acadian mail order bride, and an Icelandic suffragette.
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