Welcome back to This Week in Canada—and Happy Canada Day! Debate over an Islamic call to prayer, a slew of multicultural holidays, and the many Americans claiming Canadian citizenship are all variations of the same two questions: What does it mean to be Canadian? And what holds us together?
On June 19, the Regina City Jamia Masjid mosque did something for the first time: It broadcast the adhan—the Islamic call to prayer—for three minutes on loudspeakers from its downtown mosque.
The call to prayer was entirely legal and complied with the Saskatchewan city’s noise bylaw. But it turned into a test of religious freedom—and a heated debate over what kind of country Canada really wants to be.
On one side are local residents and other people who welcome the broadcast as a legitimate expression of religious freedom in an increasingly diverse Canada. Freedom of religion is so important that it is one of the four “fundamental freedoms” in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Canada’s constitutional bill of rights created in 1982.
On the other side are those who argue that religious worship belongs inside places of worship, not over public loudspeakers. Some critics also see the adhan as more than just a call to prayer. They say it has symbolized the public presence, and even dominance, of Islam.
