Nazia Quazi case encourages Canadian Muslims to speak out

The Christian Science Monitor (US)
7 May 2010

OTTAWA - It is Saturday morning in a downtown restaurant, and Shahla Khan Salter sits three other local Muslims. They've been brought together by a 24-year-old Indo-Canadian who has been trapped in Saudi Arabia since 2007 due to a practice that requires women to have a male guardian's permission to travel. Ms. Khan Salter has assembled the group to brainstorm ways to help the young woman, Nazia Quazi, return to Canada.

Whlie Ms. Quazi's case is unusual, what it may reflect about changes within Western Muslim communities is equally noteworthy. Historically, Western Muslims have been apathetic when it comes to civic engagement, but increasinly Islamic communities in the West, like those helping Quazi, are beginning to buck this trend.

"I definitely think that there is increased civic engagement, says Nadia Roumani, director of the American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute, which helps Muslim leaders and non-profit organizations develop the skills to get involved in anything from politics and education to interfaith work. "It's not pervasive, but there is a critical mass."

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