Being Canadian and Ahmadi Muslim: exploring identity formation of young Ahmadi Muslim women

Abstract

This study explored the identity formation of young women from a minority Muslim group known as Ahmadis in Canada. Nine unstructured interviews were conducted with women between the ages of 20-26. The questions that this study explored were: How do Ahmadi Muslim women understand and negotiate their identities? What are the factors that shaped and influenced their identity? The participants noted various components of Canadian and Ahmadi identity. Being Canadian meant having multiculturalism/ diversity, being accepting, polite, watching hockey and eating foods such as poutine. Being Ahmadi Muslim meant to have a strong sense of community (Jama ‘at), a sense of sisterhood and unity. The study also found various factors which shaped the identities of these young women which included family, friends, location, the Jama ‘at (community) and parent’s immigration history. Recommendations for theory and practice are provided as well as implications for future research. Key Words: Identity, Ahmadi Muslim women, Identity formation, Canadian

Navigating Triple Consciousness in the Diaspora: An Autoethnographic Account of an Ahmadi Muslim Woman in Canada

“…The same privilege that removed us from being directly targeted in the homeland indirectly guided our day-to-day interactions in the diaspora. It is the impact of this politico-religious persecution on the subjectivities of future generations of Ahmadis growing up in the diaspora that scholars (Botterill et al 2020;Mohammad 2018;Nijhawan 2016) are beginning to investigate, and that I seek to contribute to with this body of work.…”

“…Researchers have only begun to examine the complicated intergenerational effects of trauma and dispossession on Ahmadi youth in the diaspora (Botterill et al 2020;Mohammad 2018;Nijhawan 2016). Nijhawan (2016, p. 238) explores these tensions in the subjectivities of Ahmadi youth in Canada, who "while trying to make sense of their otherness as Ahmadi Muslims and racialized subjects in the Canadian context, .…”

“…For myself and other generations of Ahmadi Muslims in the diaspora, our shared history is inescapable and a foundational part of our triple consciousness. It shapes distinctions between how we see ourselves and how others see us, it shapes our agency and decision making, and ultimately it shapes our ongoing connections with our community in the diaspora (Mohammad 2018), a means of finding security despite the precarity of our subjectivities.…”