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When studying Canadian history, Québec’s past is quite unique in relation to religion. Historically, Québécois people were extremely oppressed by the Catholic Church, which controlled education, healthcare, and entertainment (Mahrouse, 91). The period during the 1940s and 1950s is called ‘‘la Grande Noirceur’’ by Québécois people. During this period, Québécois people felt guilt, loneliness, and anxiety daily. Furthermore, they lacked the freedom to control their lifestyles, as it was mainly monitored by the Catholic Church (The Canadian Encyclopedia). After this period, the Quiet Revolution took place during the 1960s. Society was transforming itself, and the social dynamics were rapidly changing. The Church became weaker, the education system was secularized, and greater gender equality was achieved (Mahrouse, 91). Nowadays, religion as a whole is perceived negatively, especially Islam, which is seen as a threat to gender equality (Mahrouse, 92). On top of that, being a minority group in Canada makes Québécois people feel as if they can’t afford to be too tolerant toward immigrants, as it might cause them to lose their values (Mahrouse, 91). The Bouchard-Taylor commission was formed to respond to different issues between Québécois people and religious/ethnic minorities. However, they stuck to the traditional definition of racism (violation of rights) instead of considering diffuse and discreet racism (Mahrouse, 94). Thus, they were not truly combating racism or intolerance.
In most Western countries, religion is often perceived as contrary to human rights (Bilge, 303). The sexularist stand claims that secularism offers gender equality and sexual emancipation, which religion restricts. Islam specifically, is seen as oppressive toward women and non-heteronormative sexualities. Sexularism can be linked to Orientalism as it perceives Islam as a threat to freedom (Bilge, 307). Historically, Orientalists have always claimed that Islam limits freedom, especially in relation to women. They used this claim as a way of justifying the colonization of the ‘‘Orient’’. Sexularists are against the idea of ‘‘open secularism’’, as it would jeopardize gender equality, and it would be incompatible with feminist concerns (Bilge, 309). By deeming Islam as inherently misogynistic, Québécois people can claim to fight for human rights, all while limiting Muslim people’s freedom (Bilge, 313).

Since the second half of the twentieth century, Indian cuisine has become increasingly popular in British culture and social life. Today, there are approximately nine thousand restaurants and take-aways run by South Asian immigrants and their descendants. Most of their customers are White people (Buettner, 143). Buettner explains this increasing taste for so-called Indian food by using the term ‘‘celebratory multiculturalism’’. However, this multiculturalism still came with a form of racism and exclusion (Buettner, 145). Indian restaurants and take-aways were ‘‘damned and praised simultaneously’’ (Buettner 159). Some clients considered that the food was good, all while being cheap. Others considered that these restaurants were disappointing, and that the food lacked flavor. Some described these restaurants as nice places to grab food after hitting the pub (Buettner, 158). Many of these restaurants were criticized for having the same designs and the same menus, thus, lacking authenticity (Buettner, 156). They could even be depicted as ‘‘second-class establishments’’ (Buettner, 157). Some White people have considered rebranding the food, modernizing it, and attracting new clientele (Buettner, 168). Personally, I consider this to be not only cultural appropriation, but also a strange form of colonialism. It’s as if Westerners want to colonize food in order to make financial profits.
Food can also be linked to nostalgia, thus, to a form of melancholia. Cooking can be a way of recreating immigrant people’s home countries. It can also be a way of recreating the past in their present lives. In order to make authentic food, which is different from the rest, one must recreate their own homes. However, the nostalgia one feels in relation to their home country leads to the creation of things that ‘‘never were’’ (Mannur, 32). This means that the person who is recreating their home, is only recreating a perspective, and not a reality.
The music video overall presents how food links us to our families, our parents and grandparents. In the music video, the moment I find the most interesting is when we see Jaffrey in a boxing gym, wearing boxing gloves and a championship belt. I think this symbolizes the fact that we all consider our grandmothers as the best chefs. I can eat couscous anywhere in the world, but in will never be better than the one my grandmother made that one time when I was nine years old. Was she truly the best chef? Was that really the best couscous I ever ate? Or am I just nostalgic of my childhood, and of being able to spend time with my grandmother?
I believe that food is important for diaspora histories, as it not only allows people to keep a part of their culture, but it also allows them to interact with other people. In fact, food is a way of sharing your culture with people of other diasporas. It’s also a way of interacting with White people, who can claim your food as a new part of their culture, all while describing it as disgusting, greasy or stinky. Food can bring you back to your childhood, your home country, your family. You can also start being ashamed of the food you once loved because of the way it’s perceived by White people.

Cook describes the way Moriscos were treated in New Spain. Moriscos were descendants of Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula who had ben forcibly converted to Christianity. Despite their conversions, their piety was perceived as unauthentic (Cook, 80). They were seen as dangerous because they had different practices than Old Christians. Those practices incurred persecution in Spain and in the Americas (Cook, 81). Due to these persecutions, many Moriscos abandoned certain practices, even in their own homes. For example, some did not perform the daily prayers (Cook, 83). The aljamiado manuscript’s description of the Day of Reckoning may have been comforting to Moriscos as it claims that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) could plead for them. It also stated that he would beg God to forgive anybody who had professed their faith, even if it was only once (Cook, 87). Moriscos were also perceived negatively because of their connections to iconoclasm. In fact, there are reports of Moriscos destroying religious images in front of Indigenous people (Cook, 92). Evidently, in most branches of Islam, representing Prophets with images is forbidden. Furthermore, worshipping anything or anyone other than God is forbidden. Thus, praying to Saints or bowing down in front of images, such as Catholics do, is in direct contradiction to Islamic values. Protestant Christians do not pray to Saints either (Cook, 94). They also have many different practices than Catholics, which would make them be perceived as a danger, such as Moriscos were. To recognize Moriscos, they would be judged by their lineage, purity of blood (limpieza de sangre), religiosity, reputation, customary practices, dress, occupation, and physical appearance (Cook, 97). Thus, Moriscos were not only recognized religiously, but also culturally, socially and racially.
Throughout the twentieth century, Latinos have developed relationships with immigrant Muslims. The earliest records of Latinos converting to Islam date back to approximately 1920. One of the reasons for these relationships is the fact that they worked together. Moreover, constraints on marriage between people with different skin colors lead Latinos and Muslim immigrants to marry each other (Bowen, 171). Finally, the oppression of both groups by Westerners created a proximity between them (Bowen, 173). Historical research has come to prove that many Latinos were forcibly converted to Christianity, during the Reconquista. Thus, their conversions are not trivial. In fact, they are reclaiming the religion of their ancestors, which is why we can call them ‘‘reversions’’. However, in Islam, we believe that all humans are born Muslim before being corrupted by their environment. Hence, anybody who converts to Islam is reverting.
In the song ‘‘Somos Sur’’, Ana Tijoux and Shadia Mansour depict worldwide oppression imposed by Western forces. The first verse represents resistance. Tijoux starts the verse by saying ‘‘Tú nos dices que debemos sentarnos pero las ideas solo puedan levantarnos’’. She is claiming that no matter how much injustice people endure due to colonial forces, they will keep rising with ideas, which elevate them much higher than Westerners want them to be. During the chorus, she says: ‘‘Todos los callados, todos los omitidos, todos los invisibles’’. This is a way of stating that she is speaking for all silenced people across the world, who are being hidden and made invisible by imperial forces. Afterwards, she states ‘‘Yo te quiero libre Palestina’’, which once again is a way for her of claiming that she is not only making this song for marginalized people in Latin America, but for oppressed people across the world. Shadia Mansour’s verse has a similar message, as she mentions colonial injustices in Africa, Latin America, and in the Arab world. She also specifically mentions the Israeli settler colonial project. In this song, both artists are giving a voice to all oppressed people. Furthermore, it implicitly illustrates the fact that all injustices across the world are caused by the same exact people, Western Imperialists.

@eman_elawad

Rap initially stands for “rhythm and poetry”. In the 1980s, it was used as a way of depicting harsh realities all while criticizing oppression and violence. Artists like Grandmaster Flash, with his song “The Message”, shed light on the harsh conditions that people lived in. However, rap came to be perceived as a genre of music which promotes crime, drugs and sex. A lot of rappers criticize this, such as J Cole, Kendrick Lamar, etc. And there are also rappers who use Gangsta Rap (like NWA) to depict their reality. Sometimes, it seems as if they are glorifying crime. However, Ice Cube, a member of NWA, claimed that when he mentions violence in his songs he is only doing that to paint a picture and to illustrate the reality that many people live in. Ice Cube even compares his music to journalism. Sadly, although there are lots of rappers who make conscious music, many mainstream rappers (like Gunna, Future, Young Thug, Drake, etc) glorify sex, crime and the consumption of drugs without actually criticizing oppression. These rappers also say horrendous things about women, depicting them merely as sexual objects. This causes people to view rap music as something that promotes crime and violence.

This is what I meant when I said that rappers depict themselves as criminals. I did not want to claim that rap music as a whole is criminal. I was only stating that many mainstream rappers claim to be criminals, even when they aren’t. In some way, these specific artists are glorifying violence.

Many of the slaves brought from West Africa to America were Muslim. Although they were often forced to convert to Christianity, many of them were sure of their faith and intended to keep it. They knew their religion, and at the very least had read the Quran. Even when they were forcibly converted to Christianity, they did not embrace the new religion (Diouf, 74). Non-Muslims, on the other hand, could incorporate whatever seemed useful in Christianity into their original beliefs (Diouf, 75). ‘‘Pseudo-converts’’ adopted outward signs of Christianity, all while retaining their faith (Diouf, 78). Their original faith could be seen through their practices, such as praying, fasting, or giving alms to each other. Although prayer is not mandatory if it puts the believer in danger, many slaves prayed by choice (Diouf, 86). Zakat and Sadaqah (alms and charity) were also important as they instilled a sense of collective identity and responsibility, by making it a duty to participate in the welfare of the community. Alms giving between slaves was recorded in many different places such as Brazil, the West Indies, and the United States of America (Diouf, 92). Shahada (profession of faith) did not put them in danger as much as visible practices, as they could testify their faith in front of God without being attacked by their slaveowners. In fact, shahada was an inward practice, unlike prayer, alms giving, and fasting. Finally, instead of calling these slaves ‘‘pseudo-converts’’, I think we can call them forced-converts, which emphasizes the fact that conversions were achieved through harsh punishments (Diouf, 76).
Slavery was used as an excuse to Christianise African people. The children of slaves would become Christian and have more European attributes due to their contact with White people (GhaneaBassiri, 48). Even opponents of slavery had deeply racist and paternalistic perspectives. They claimed that Islam was semi-civilized. Thus, they claimed that Africans were not uncivilized, but that Islam is what brought them to be (GhaneaBassiri, 49). However, some White people used Muslim slaves as examples of intelligence and good character (GhaneaBassiri, 50). They claimed that Arabic speaking Africans were superior in culture and civilization in contrast to surrounding peoples (GhaneaBassiri, 52). This illustrates the Orientalist biases that White people applied in their representations of Africans, as they considered that people with an Abrahamic religion, similar to Christianity, were superior to pagan Africans.
An example of a Muslim slave was Omar Ibn Said, who was very explicit about his faith. In his autobiography, the earliest pages of the manuscript contain quotations from the Quran which he remembered (Said, 87). Although these quotations are not autobiographical, they illustrate how devoted he was to his faith, even years after being stolen from his land. In his autobiography, he states that he studied and sought religious knowledge under the instruction of a Sheikh. He claims that he studied for twenty-five years (Said, 89). Interestingly, this contradicts the narrative that Africans were uncivilized and uneducated, as Said was educated, literate, and knowledgeable in religious matters.