Elamin Abdelmahmoud
by Elamin Abdelmahmoud
There are two stories about Canada. They are both real – and they are at odds with each other.
The first is the story epitomised by Canadian anchor Peter Mansbridge on Wednesday. Tired as he may have been after leading the CBC’s coverage when first two soldiers were deliberately run down in Quebec Monday and then during Wednesday’s tragic shooting in Ottawa, he maintained his respectful tone and earned praise for not jumping to any conclusions about the shooter.
Some people outside Canada expressed surprise that this kind of restraint was possible, given their experience with American media. But we’re a measured people, and we all knew that Mansbridge was reflecting our best values.
We think of ourselves as a nation that is welcoming to all of those who want to be a part of it,so we try to make very little room for jumping to conclusions.
The core of the first story of Canada is that we believe we are made stronger by our diversity: different but together, side by side. Ultimately, it’s a celebratory story, and it’s about as beautiful a national narrative as you’re going to get on this planet.
There is another story, though. The second story of Canada is relatively new, but equally real – and it’s emerged out of the limitations of the first story. It is the story of a Canada that is wary of (or at least a little worried about) how much diversity is too much. It’s a story shaped by anxieties about whether the tolerance built into our institutions has gone too far.
The story of the measured Canada, told so well in our national newspapers on Thursday morning, is perfect – but less perfect and still present alongside that story are the voices of a reactionary Canada.
No one experiences our national duality more deeply than Muslim Canadians. To be Muslim in Canada is to traverse in mixed signals and to live hyperaware of the existence of two Canadas: one that celebrates you, and one that isn’t so sure you should be here.
The two Canadas exist side by side, and there is no separating them. In Canada, we’re self-congratulatory and sceptical about multiculturalism at the same time. Sophisticated multiculturalism is the dominant story we tell about ourselves, but events like those of this week reveal a fault line buried just beneath the surface.
The lingering doubt as to whether these kinds of incidents are just coincidences or the new normal for Muslim Canadians will almost certainly continue as all Canadians grapple with Wednesday’s events.
During Wednesday’s news coverage on CBC, a reporter asked an eyewitness to describe the suspect, and there was a moment of awkwardness and hesitation before he answered, “He was wearing something on his head ... I don’t want to get in trouble”.
That moment embodies the tense conflict between the two Canadas, but it also tells us which one is winning ... for now.
THE GUARDIAN
by Elamin Abdelmahmoud
There are two stories about Canada. They are both real – and they are at odds with each other.
The first is the story epitomised by Canadian anchor Peter Mansbridge on Wednesday. Tired as he may have been after leading the CBC’s coverage when first two soldiers were deliberately run down in Quebec Monday and then during Wednesday’s tragic shooting in Ottawa, he maintained his respectful tone and earned praise for not jumping to any conclusions about the shooter.
Some people outside Canada expressed surprise that this kind of restraint was possible, given their experience with American media. But we’re a measured people, and we all knew that Mansbridge was reflecting our best values.
We think of ourselves as a nation that is welcoming to all of those who want to be a part of it,so we try to make very little room for jumping to conclusions.
The core of the first story of Canada is that we believe we are made stronger by our diversity: different but together, side by side. Ultimately, it’s a celebratory story, and it’s about as beautiful a national narrative as you’re going to get on this planet.
There is another story, though. The second story of Canada is relatively new, but equally real – and it’s emerged out of the limitations of the first story. It is the story of a Canada that is wary of (or at least a little worried about) how much diversity is too much. It’s a story shaped by anxieties about whether the tolerance built into our institutions has gone too far.
The story of the measured Canada, told so well in our national newspapers on Thursday morning, is perfect – but less perfect and still present alongside that story are the voices of a reactionary Canada.
No one experiences our national duality more deeply than Muslim Canadians. To be Muslim in Canada is to traverse in mixed signals and to live hyperaware of the existence of two Canadas: one that celebrates you, and one that isn’t so sure you should be here.
The two Canadas exist side by side, and there is no separating them. In Canada, we’re self-congratulatory and sceptical about multiculturalism at the same time. Sophisticated multiculturalism is the dominant story we tell about ourselves, but events like those of this week reveal a fault line buried just beneath the surface.
The lingering doubt as to whether these kinds of incidents are just coincidences or the new normal for Muslim Canadians will almost certainly continue as all Canadians grapple with Wednesday’s events.
During Wednesday’s news coverage on CBC, a reporter asked an eyewitness to describe the suspect, and there was a moment of awkwardness and hesitation before he answered, “He was wearing something on his head ... I don’t want to get in trouble”.
That moment embodies the tense conflict between the two Canadas, but it also tells us which one is winning ... for now.
THE GUARDIAN
