Information practices of Canadian Muslims post 9/11

Abstract This article explores how the post 9/11 climate has impacted Muslim-Canadians' information practices, including their uses of various information sources, and their attitudes and perceptions regarding their information rights in a post 9/11 world. A survey was conducted in 2004-2005 with 120 participants and supplemented by in-depth interviews. The population consisted of Muslim students enrolled in post-secondary institutions in Toronto, Ontario. The findings highlight Muslims' malaise in a post 9/11 environment; the deep mistrust they hold vis-a-vis the media; the importance they give to media and information literacy skills for all; as well as a call for increased introspection inside the Muslim community(ies). The study contributes to shedding light on a community that has often being talked and written about but not often heard. By soliciting Muslim individuals' perspectives, we enable them to voice their opinions about how the 9/11 events impacted on their lives and how their information practices inform their experiences.

[1]  Z. Bukhari.  Muslims' place in the American public square : hope, fears, and aspirations , 2004 .

[2]  R. Putnam.  The Prosperous Community: Social Capital and Public Life , 1993 .

[3]  Louis Leung,et al.  Blurring public and private behaviors in public space: policy challenges in the use and improper use of the cell phone , 1999, Telematics Informatics.

[4]  Frank E. Vogel,et al.  The Public and Private in Saudi Arabia: Restrictions on the Powers of Committees for Ordering the Good and Forbidding the Evil , 2015 .

[5]  B. Grim,et al.  International Religion Indexes: Government Regulation, Government Favoritism, and Social Regulation of Religion. , 2006, Interdisciplinary journal of research on religion.

[6]  Robert D. Putnam,et al.  Bowling alone: the collapse and revival of American community , 2000, CSCW '00.

[7]  M. Weston.  Post 9/11 Arab American Coverage Avoids Stereotypes , 2003 .

[8]  Peter G. Peterson.  Public Diplomacy and the War on Terrorism , 2002 .

[9]  K. Fadl,et al.  The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists , 2005 .

[10]  F. A. Rauf.  What's Right with Islam: A New Vision for Muslims and the West , 2004 .

[11]  James Shanahan,et al.  Public Diplomacy, Television News, and Muslim Opinion , 2004 .

[12]  Ian Hosein,et al.  Transforming travel and border controls: Checkpoints in the Open Society , 2005, Gov. Inf. Q..

[13]  M. Kadivar.  An Introduction to the Public and Private Debate in Islam , 2015, Human Rights and Reformist Islam.

[14]  Egon Mayer,et al.  American Religious Identification Survey , 2001 .

[15]  M. Juergensmeyer,et al.  Terror in the mind of God: the global rise of religious violence , 2000 .

[16]  Nor Shahriza Abdul Karim,et al.  ASSESSING ISLAMIC INFORMATION QUALITY ON THE INTERNET: A CASE OF INFORMATION ABOUT HADITH , 2005 .

[17]  S. Bunkers.  Understanding the Stranger , 2003, Nursing science quarterly.

[18]  Nadia Caidi,et al.  Information rights and national security , 2005, Gov. Inf. Q..

[19]  Journal of Economic Perspectives—Volume 18, Number 3—Summer 2004—Pages 117–133 Media, Education and Anti-Americanism in the Muslim World , 2022 .

[20]  T. Courchene,et al.  Belonging? : diversity, recognition and shared citizenship in Canada , 2007 .

[21]  J. Stern,et al.  Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill , 2003 .

[22]  Shelly Warwick.  Will the Academy survive 9/11? Scholarship, security, and United States Government policy , 2005, Gov. Inf. Q..