A recent article in the online version of Spacing Toronto, whose aim is “understanding the urban landscape”, describes the latest Muslim incursion into the city and compares it to the 19 th century Moorish revival. The writer seriously misses the point. What happened in the 19 th century and earlier was limited efforts to introduce carefully selected Muslim styles, usually chosen for their beauty and originality, and ingeniously incorporating them into the city’s existing tradition. What is happening now is actual Muslims entering Canada, and bringing with them their visual and religious symbols, with the sole purpose of changing the landscape to facilitate their cultural practices.
We are no longer admiring some artistic or architectural anomaly, usually beautifully exotic, but unobtrusively foreign. What we are now witnessing, in stark contrast to the original approach, are often unattractive buildings and imagery cropping up all over our cities. Their function is not to add interest or beauty, but to act as tools for cultural and other functional purposes. These elements were craftily introduced to us one little bit at a time, and quietly and stealthily threaten to usurp our existing environment. Before we knew it, we are inundated with them, without ever having agreed to have them in the first place.
Perhaps one of the most covert structures are the Islamic centers in down town Toronto. They are euphemisms for mosques, and are found in bland buildings throughout the city with the capacity to house large numbers of Friday worshipers. This surreptitious take-over, where every corner could essentially become a mosque, is an ironic farewell to Toronto the Good, where every corner was a church.
By initially camouflaging the buildings behind nondescript structures, Muslims then start to declare their true intent. This is evident in the activities of The Islamic Center of Downtown Toronto, otherwise known as Masjid Toronto, incorporated into what was originally a bank. Masjid may be Greek to Torontonians, but as the Arabic translation of mosque, its members have cleverly found a way to make a full disclosure. Masjid Toronto recently announced its participation in “Doors Open Toronto”, an annual 3-day event in May that introduces the city’s buildings to its residents.
This year the event was themed “Sacred Spaces, Sacred Circles .” Masjid Toronto’s smart entry into the city’s cultural scene invites the public to tour its building as an introduction to Islamic culture. It promises a visit replete with shoe-removals and mid-day Muslim prayers. Without realizing it, culturally curious Torontonians become slowly inculcated into Islam.
But, for those who wish to see the real deal, and not just some make-shift corner masjid, they could proceed to another “Doors Open” event to view the Islamic Foundation of Toronto. Although it emphasizes its educational facilitates on its website, there is no mistaking that this ungainly and unattractive building serves primarily as a mosque, with it’s clear Islamic dome and 130ft minaret looming over the suburban-like landscape. It is also conveniently located far from the center of the city where criticism by ordinary Torontonians is limited.
Now that Muslims have slowly introduced to us the structures, names and functions of their buildings, they can show us their visual presence in other ways. Television becomes an obvious venue. A sitcom entitled “Little Mosque on the Prairie” started airing on Canada’s CBC in 2007. Its title logo shows a generic mosque superimposed over the Saskatchewan prairies, a bold imagery of Islam taking over a quintessential Canadian landscape.
The sitcom’s creator, a Muslim woman who lives in Saskatchewan, unashamedly borrowed the title from one of the most beloved television series of rural America – “Little House on the Prairie.” The message is that there really is not that much difference between “Little House on the Prairie”, and “Little Mosque on the Prairie”; just a word. A mosque becomes a house, which is after all part of all Canadians’ lives. Fox television is now developing its own “Little Mosque” sitcom, bringing the story back full circle to the US, with one executive even joking that it should be called “Little Mosque in Minnesota.”
Muslims started off by covertly taking over our landscape, but gradually emboldened, they are now starting to advertise their goods. The omnipresent billboards, which dot the expansive American and Canadian highways have become their next frontier. To prepare us for this massive billboard assault, Muslims once again started off small. One of the most visible signs on Muslim store windows is the halal notice for appropriately slaughtered meats. Once we got used to the word halal, no explanation became necessary for the giant KFC billboard which went up in Dearborn, Michigan, proudly stating below the beneficent smile of Colonel Sanders: “Now Serving Halal.”
But, Muslims did not stop there. Halal in Arabic script is prevalent in small Muslim stores. Recently, such major food chains as Subway and McDonalds are simply putting up posters and signs which use the Arabic script for halal. Now that we have become accustomed to what it looks like, we can recognize it anywhere, without even reading Arabic. English is no longer required.
Halal’s increasingly recognizable Arabic visual identification is now beginning to enter even broader venues. A Toronto-based Italian restaurant, calling itself “Kara Mia: Modern Italian Cuisine” is described by the Toronto Star as a “cozy eatery…Decorated with depictions of Venice.” The only indication to an unsuspecting visitor that this is not your average Italian restaurant is the halal Arabic script on the corner of the menus, although everything else is in English. Kara Mia announces on its website that it will soon start franchising. Halal has really gone mainstream.
What is more mainstream than having your very own ethnic magazine competing on the stands with Vogue, Elle and Bazaar? That is just what is happening with the US based Muslim Girl Magazine, launched just over a year ago by a Canadian Muslim woman. Westerners are having to get used to yet another symbol of Muslim life: the hijab. Through countless stories from around the world, we have come to accept that it is the normal attire for Muslim women. But Muslim Girl Magazine goes a step further and makes the hijab into a fashion statement. Placed alongside magazines with designs by Valentino and Ralph Lauren, Muslim Girl Magazine makes an audacious statement that this unattractive, monotonous piece of clothing is even remotely comparable to these designers.
The very first issue of Muslim Girl Magazine had a picture of a real-life Muslim girl posing near the stars of the American flag, with her hijab continuing the theme with red and white stripes. The main caption reads: “Growing up American.” But no true-blood American (or Canadian) Girl would wear the hijab. Yet, this popularizing magazine effort, along with the increased presence of hijab-wearing women in our streets, will surely influence ordinary girls with what Muslim Girl Magazine tries to portrays as a fun, colorful and interesting fashion. In fact, some girls are making the preliminary transition by wearing wraps around their hair as an exotic flair. With carefully phrased words and images, Muslim Girl Magazine can attract unsuspecting non-Muslim girls to join in their “fun.”
Muslim Girl Magazine also has an on-line version, which is where the more astute Muslim organizations establish their presence. One of the most successful endeavors has been google ads coverage of Muslim topics. Bloggers who write on Muslim issues are increasingly finding that their google ads contain Muslim-related information (since google ads advertise based on key-word identification.) The curious thing is that even a small piece on Islam and Muslims is almost guaranteed to generate a Muslim ad, while other topics appear to have less coverage.
These Muslim ads seem innocuous enough, mostly focussing on Muslim dating sites. But how clever is that. Matchmaking is the cornerstone to increasing the population by attracting mates (Muslim or not) and immersing them into Islam. After all, Muslims’ ultimate goal is to make the whole world Islam.
Muslims have made remarkable inroads into our societies using simple visual strategies. Unless we want to become what they want us to become, which is Muslim countries, now is the time to reverse those steps. The good news is that an “Islamic building”, most likely similar to the ubiquitous “Islamic centers” of Toronto, was recently bulldozed in Italy to be replaced by a public square in memory of Oriana Falluci, the late great Italian civilization champion who wrote about keeping Islam out of the West. The brave mayor of the city of Verona explained this decision by saying “My citizens do not want this take over.” They don’t want to see it either. The city of Verona’s recovery of its public square proves to us that it is by no means impossible repossess our landscape.