Why an Oral History Project?
Muslims have been present in Canada since prior to Confederation (1867), and yet their stories are not included in Canadian history lessons. Even Muslims are largely unaware of the history of their predecessors in Canada. The earliest pioneers have passed away. So have many of those who immigrated in the early to mid-twentieth-century. In an effort to balance our knowledge of Canadian history and the place of Muslims within Canada’s mosaic, there is an urgent need to record the stories of the remaining pioneers, before their stories too are lost and unrecorded. Oral history is a profoundly important way to begin documenting Muslim history in Canada. Oral history allows people to tell their own stories from their own perspectives. This enables a nuanced and contextualised approach to understanding the role of Muslims in Canadian history, which will then assist researchers in understanding the development of Muslim identity within the Canadian context. Why Dundas Street? Fifty years ago,
