1 Introduction

Since 2004, the Department of Justice Canada has conducted legal needs surveys to better understand the everyday legal problems that Canadians, and those living in Canada, experience (Department of Justice Canada, 2024). The most recent survey—the Canadian Legal Problems Survey (CLPS)—was administered in 2021 by Statistics Canada. The CLPS collected data from over 21,000 Canadians about the legal challenges they have encountered, the strategies they have used to address these challenges, and the economic and health-related effects of these experiences. The Department subsequently commissioned a series of qualitative studies designed to complement and enhance the CLPS by documenting the experiences of minority populations who may have been underrepresented in the survey sample (see https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/jr/survey-enquete.html). To date, qualitative studies have been conducted with immigrants, older adults, persons with disabilities, Métis in the Northwest Territories, and members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ and Black communities. The current study adds to this body of research by exploring the experiences of Muslims who have faced serious legal problems in London and Toronto, Ontario.

1.1 Muslims in Canada

Over the past decades, Canada has solidified its reputation as a “bastion of multiculturalism” and one of the more sought-after immigrant-friendly nations in the world (Porter Robbins, 2023). The 2021 population census reported more than 450 ethnic or cultural groups residing in Canada, with Muslims making up 4.9% of the country’s population (Statistics Canada, 2022). In Ontario, Muslims comprise 6.7% of the population, with 6.9% of London residents and 9.6% of Toronto residents identifying as Muslim (City of Toronto, 2022; Juha, 2022, Statistics Canada, 2024).

Despite their limited representation in the population, Muslims are among one of the “fastest-growing minority groups” in Canada (Environics, 2016). As with any population, a proportion of Muslims in Canada face serious problems and, all else being equal, growing Muslim populations translate to numerically more Muslims facing such problems. Some have argued, however, that the rapid population growth of Muslim communities may increase the prevalence of certain problems in particular, such as discrimination. Indeed, scholars argue that implicit bias arising from public discourse regarding associations between Muslims and global terror groups has been used to justify growing Islamophobia in Canada (Bahdi, 2018; CBC Radio, 2021; Woodley et al., 2018). Consequently, in 2023, police services in Canada recorded a sharp rise in hate crimes, with 4,777 incidents reported, up 32% from 3,612 incidents in 2022. This marked the third sharp increase in four years. Muslim populations (16%) were the second-most targeted religion of hate crimes.Footnote 1 This, in turn, affects how Muslims are perceived and treated in the various spheres of daily life, including during interactions with the justice system.

1.2 Serious problems faced by Muslims in Canada

Attempts to address legal issues can also be complicated by conflicts between Canada’s secular legal system and Sharia, which is considered to be an “ideal form of divine guidance” in Islam and provides the basis of the Islamic laws that we see today (Robinson, 2021). Though many Muslim-majority countries have adopted secular legal practices, Sharia plays a role in how some countries deal with family matters. Differences between the Canadian legal system and systems informed by Sharia can affect how Muslims—particularly those from other countries—seek and gain justice in Canada.

1.2.1 Family issues

Clashes between the Canadian legal system and Sharia-based systems are exemplified by the Canadian government’s restrictions on adoptions from Islamic countries. Many Islamic countries lack formal adoption procedures and instead employ guardianship arrangements between children and adults (Nasser, 2024). As a signatory of the Hague Convention, however, Canada does not “recognize parent-child guardianships established in countries under Islamic law,” particularly in Pakistan, Morocco, and Jordan (Rieger & Porter Robbins, 2023). In 2013, Canada placed a ban on adoption from Pakistan, arguing that Sharia law does not allow for the severance of birth ties between parent and child, thereby delegitimizing Islamic adoptions in the eyes of the Canadian court (Nasser, 2024). Some Canadian Muslim families have raised concerns with the judiciary, stating that such bans are discriminatory and lack transparency about interpretation. Several Canadian Muslims have challenged the adoption ban in the Supreme Court, arguing that the ban is xenophobic and unconstitutional (Smith, 2024).

1.2.2 Employment issues

In addition to family issues, research shows that employment-related problems are among the most frequently occurring legal issues Canadians face (Farrow et al., 2016). In the 2021 CLPS, work-related injuries and non-injury-related work issues were reported by 10% and 13% of respondents, respectively (Savage & McDonald, 2022). This is particularly concerning for Canadian Muslims who may also face heightened religion-based discrimination in the workplace. In 2017, for instance, five Muslim employees of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) filed a multi-million-dollar lawsuit claiming Islamophobia and workplace harassment within the agency (Shephard, 2017). More recently, multiple individuals have experienced job loss allegedly due to their pro-Palestine stance (CBC News, 2023; Middle East Monitor, 2023; Noakes, 2023), with the Muslim Legal Support Centre (n.d.) noting that they have assisted more than 300 Muslims who have faced repercussions at work due to their support of Palestine. These cases suggest that religious discrimination against Muslims exists in the Canadian labour market.

1.2.3 Interactions with the justice system

Increasing levels of Islamophobia have been accompanied by a steady rise in hate crimes committed against Muslims in Canada (Bahdi, 2018; CBC Radio, 2021; Mitrovica, 2023; Reuters, 2023; Woodley et al., 2018), with incidents ranging from verbal harassment and physical assault (e.g., Aguilar, 2023) to extreme acts of violence, as exemplified by the 2021 vehicular terrorism attack perpetrated against a Muslim family in London, Ontario (Dubinski, 2024) and the 2017 Quebec mosque shooting. As noted by legal scholar Reem Bahdi (2018), however, Muslims in Canada experience barriers in accessing human rights law, particularly in the context of a perceived discriminatory event. Pointing to cases adjudicated in human rights tribunals in Ontario and British Columbia, Bahdi argues that adjudicators sometimes fail to consider the claimant’s race, ethnicity, and religion in workplace discrimination and harassment cases. Bahdi also finds that the potential length of the legal process often deters Canadian Muslims from approaching human rights tribunals. Some Muslims may further be reluctant to seek recourse through the legal system due to discrimination within the legal system itself. In the last few years, Canadian Muslims have been subjected to over-policing and increased surveillance within the country (Al-Alami, 2023; Nagra & Marutto, 2016; 2023; Roach, 2023), and studies have shown that Islamophobia significantly impacts Canadian Muslim’s access to legal services, resulting in unequal treatment and outcomes within the justice system (Ben Saad, 2020; Department of Justice Canada, 2023; Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights, 2023).

1.2.4 Gender and sexuality issues

As an alternative to the formal legal system, some Muslims may seek community- or faith-based arbitration. In fact, the Islamic Institute of Civil Justice announced in 2003 that they “intended to create an Islamic family dispute arbitration board for Canadian Muslims under the provisions of the Ontario Arbitration Act” (Resnick, 2007, p. 1). As scholars have noted, however, some Sharia guidance leads to greater restrictions on the rights and freedoms of certain groups, including women and 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals (Robinson, 2021). As a result, this announcement raised concerns among civil society organizations, including Muslim women’s organizations, about the possibility of women’s autonomy being compromised and the favouring of men, resulting in regressive legal interpretation and the undermining of the secular values held within Canada’s legal system (Chotalia, 2006; National Association of Women and the Law, 2003; Ruby, 2013). Researchers point out that such arbitrations further marginalize Muslim women with “fewer socioeconomic resources who often find themselves agreeing to settlements which are less than their legal entitlements” (Ruby, 2013, p. 40).

Ontario mandates that family law can only be arbitered under provincial law, thereby providing a neutral and secular legal framework that aims to safeguard the rights of Muslim women. Nevertheless, a review of the existing literature shows that Muslim women in Canada experience significant barriers to accessing legal resources, particularly for reporting gender-based violence, including family and intimate-partner violence (Abdullah, 2023; Baobaid, 2020). Fear of losing child custody, social and cultural stigma, shame, ostracization, and precarious immigration status are some of the significant factors that lead to underreporting and a reluctance to seek legal counsel among Canadian Muslim women. Language barriers also hinder access to services, as most immigrant and refugee women do not speak English or French (Mezzatesta Gava et al., 2022).

In addition to challenges with accessing the legal system, Muslim women have experienced heightened scrutiny in Canadian legal and public spheres due to their use of religious head and body coverings, such as hijabs, niqabs, and burqas. Religious coverings have been subjected to persistent politicization and are often cited by political representatives as antithetical to Canadian values (Barber, 2015; Beauchamp, 2015). In 2015, the highly publicized Ishaq v. Canada case highlighted the limits of religious freedom as embodied in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom (De Villa, 2015). Following the case proceedings, the Canadian judiciary repealed the Conservative government’s ban on Muslim women’s right to wear a niqab or religious face covering during Citizenship Oath Ceremonies (CBC Radio, 2015). Similarly, researchers have criticized Quebec’s Bill 21, introduced in 2019, for misapplying religious neutrality (Kinsigner, 2019). Civil rights activists in Canada have criticized the bill as unconstitutional, particularly for its regressive approach to restricting public service officials from wearing religious symbols.Footnote 2 One of the major criticisms against Bill 21 is that it not only singles out Muslim women but also significantly restricts their right to religious freedom (Montpetit, 2020).

Regardless of the reason one chooses to do so, the wearing of Islamic religious garments publicly identifies the wearer as Muslim, leaving Muslim women particularly vulnerable to discrimination, surveillance, and violence. Indeed, research has shown that veiled Muslim women working in manufacturing, sales, and service industries experience frequent harassment and marginalization in the workplace (Canadian Labour Congress, 2019; Islamic Relief Canada, 2023; Persad & Lukas, 2002). Similarly, a Quebec legal survey conducted three years after the introduction of Bill 21 found that about 78% of Muslim women reported a decline in their sense of public safety, and approximately two-thirds of Muslim women stated that they had experienced a hate crime in Quebec (Rukavina, 2022). These findings strongly suggest that an intersectional approach that recognizes the interplay between gender, religion, and identity is crucial for understanding the experiences of Muslims in Canada.

1.3 The current study

In the past few years, Canadian Muslims have faced a range of serious problems, including discrimination, surveillance, and targeting by law enforcement agencies (Al-Alami, 2023). A study investigating the intersections of faith, identity, and access to justice, therefore, is timely and important. The current study aims to produce a detailed account of the legal needs of Muslims in Canada through in-depth interviews with Muslims who have faced serious problems in London and Toronto, Ontario. By centring their experiences, the authors hope that this work will be useful in developing evidence-based policies and community-led initiatives that promote inclusive justice, social cohesion, and equal access to legal recourse for Muslims across the country.