Toronto’s Love of Diversity Is Tested by Islamists
“If politeness and ceremony be observed toward Mohammedans, they imagine they are feared and become arrogant; but in showing severity and rudeness, they are impressed with fear and respect, and they are supple and manageable.”
–North China Herald,1867
A large influx of Muslim immigrants from Pakistan, Somalia, and elsewhere is putting “tolerant” Toronto to the test.
Toronto’s motto is “Diversity Our Strength.” According to the city’s official website, it is where “more than 150 languages are spoken daily and where 50 percent of [its 2.7 million] residents are born outside of Canada.”
When multiculturalism was declared official national policyin 1971, some citizens bristled, but others merely envisioned — to employ one Canadian blogger’s cynical expression — “more pavilions at Folkfest.” Already the destination of choice for many immigrants, Toronto duly appointed itself the country’s capital of multiculturalism.
Decades later, though, a large influx of Muslim immigrantsfrom Pakistan, Somalia, and elsewhere is putting “tolerant” Toronto to the test.
Like newcomers before them, Muslims are eagerly courted by politicians, who are accustomed to treating Canada’s urban “ethnics” as colorful yet mostly harmless voting blocks. And, in turn, Muslims are requesting accommodation for various religious and cultural practices, just like every group before them — except that sometimes these demands are at odds with Canada’s Judeo-Christian heritage and “liberal” self-image.
All the while, the number of Muslims in the city is growing rapidly. Unlike a comparable city such as New York, which is about 9% Jewish and 3.5% Muslim, the same demographic ratio in Toronto is reversed:6.7% Muslim to 4.2% Jewish. This is a fairly recent development and the trend seems destined to continue. According to the latest Statistics Canada report, “Toronto’s population of Arabs and West Asians could more than triple between 2006 and 2031. … People with a non-Christian religion could represent nearly 31% of the census metropolitan area’s population by 2031, up from 21% in 2006.”
