Since 2007, October has been officially recognized as Islamic History Month in Canada. This year, in addition to the illumination in green of the Kingston City Hall this evening, October 1st, faculty in the School of Religion in collaboration with the Muslim Societies-Global Perspectives Project have organized several public online educational events over the course of the month.
In particular, Dr. Shobhana Xavier will be presenting a public lecture on her current research on Muslim mysticism in Canada, "Between Popular Spirituality and Islamic Mysticism: Locating Sufism in Canada" on October 19th at 7:30 pm. In conjunction with her class, RELS 296, Islam in Canada, Dr. Xavier has invited Canadian Muslim author Sheniz Janomohamed to speak on October 28th. Dr. Xavier will also join Dr. Adnan Husain (Director, School of Religion) in discussing "Muslims in Kingston and Beyond: A discussion with Murray Hogben on his book Minarets on the Horizon: Muslim Pioneers in Canada" with local Kingston author Murray Hogben"
Dr. Husain will also be engaged in a dialogue with artist and author on the forgotten legacies of Muslim Spain titled "I'm Al-Andalus: Why Can't You See Me?" on Wednesday, October 6th, at 7:30 pm.
This year's theme, "Anti-Indigenous Racism and Islamophobia: coming together for a month of healing" responds to the renewed demands for Truth and Reconciliation after the revelations of the unmarked graves of Indigenous children at Residential Schools and the rise of violent Islamophobia in the June attacks on a Muslim family in London, Ontario.
will be holding a special event on telling stories to combat Islamophobia, this event, titled "Tell a Story-Save a Life: A Workshop on Islamophobia with Artist @studentAsim", will take place on October 26th, starting at 7:30 pm.
The events are free and open to the public online. For links and further details please see: or /msgp