Reading Response #2
In “Making Spaces for Mosques,” Sharene Razack explores the struggles Muslim groups face in creating their own space in urban cities like Toronto and how issues of citizenship, racialization and identity intersect with that struggle. Razack uses the then East York Council’s objection to building a mosque in a vacant factory building to emphasize the “complicated politics of the production of urban space” (Razack, 189). The municipality justified their racist decision by pointing out that the mosque was short of twenty-six parking spaces out of the required 130 spaces (Razack, 186). Additionally, the municipality was also worried that they would lose $90,000 in taxes because places of worship had a tax exempt status (Razack, 188). This argument is completely nonsensical as not only does the municipality have a $60-million budget, but more importantly, religious groups have the right to practice their faith (Razack, 188). By depriving Muslims their right to establish their own …show more content…
The reality is, Toronto may use the narrative of a harmoniously integrated social groups through the policy of multiculturalism, but in reality, many diaspora groups in Toronto are marginalized and racialized in regards to the city’s social space (Razack, 190). Sonia Hinds demonstrates in her article the overrepresentation of white Christians in Canada. She reveals that in her Anglican church located in Scarborough, the modern congregation is made up of a diverse population but the imagery and art within the Church’s walls are Eurocentric (Hinds, 89). It reveals to us that white Christian domination is not a historic event and with the rejection of establishment of the mosque, it is a phenomenon that is continuously
In “Making Spaces for Mosques,” Sharene Razack explores the struggles Muslim groups face in creating their own space in urban cities like Toronto and how issues of citizenship, racialization and identity intersect with that struggle. Razack uses the then East York Council’s objection to building a mosque in a vacant factory building to emphasize the “complicated politics of the production of urban space” (Razack, 189). The municipality justified their racist decision by pointing out that the mosque was short of twenty-six parking spaces out of the required 130 spaces (Razack, 186). Additionally, the municipality was also worried that they would lose $90,000 in taxes because places of worship had a tax exempt status (Razack, 188). This argument is completely nonsensical as not only does the municipality have a $60-million budget, but more importantly, religious groups have the right to practice their faith (Razack, 188). By depriving Muslims their right to establish their own …show more content…
The reality is, Toronto may use the narrative of a harmoniously integrated social groups through the policy of multiculturalism, but in reality, many diaspora groups in Toronto are marginalized and racialized in regards to the city’s social space (Razack, 190). Sonia Hinds demonstrates in her article the overrepresentation of white Christians in Canada. She reveals that in her Anglican church located in Scarborough, the modern congregation is made up of a diverse population but the imagery and art within the Church’s walls are Eurocentric (Hinds, 89). It reveals to us that white Christian domination is not a historic event and with the rejection of establishment of the mosque, it is a phenomenon that is continuously