A Muslim Thanksgiving?

Last updated on: October 13, 2014 at 9:39 am by eren

A Muslim Thanksgiving? 2014-10-13T09:39:07-04:00 eren

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated the second Monday of October. Coming from Mexico, Thanksgiving has never meant very much to me. In fact, it tends to be a reminder of how complex and honestly messed up settler-Indigenous-immigrant relationships are in Canada.

Whereas some Canadians have tried to differentiate themselves from Americans by tracking the history of the holiday to the pre-contact harvest season, the so-called “discovery of America,” or the successful completion of settler-explorer missions in the Artic (you can ready a full article here), the reality of things is that for me, Thanksgiving is a constant reminder of colonialism. The holiday is perhaps not as widely celebrated as in the United States, but it is important enough to figure in newcomers’ guides and citizenship study books (for those seeking to become Canadian).

As weird as it may be, Thanksgiving has also become important for some immigrant and minority communities, who find that the holiday is also a way to bond with mainstream settler groups. Thanksgiving now speaks the language of multiculturalism (which has its pros and cons). Newspapers in the past few days have been publishing tips about inviting newcomers to join Thanksgiving celebrations and drawing parallels between Eid Al-Adha and Thanksgiving, particularly since the last Eid was only a few days ago.

Muslims often feature prominently in Thanksgiving articles for a number of reasons. First, many join forums and blogs to inquire about whether or not celebrating it is “halal” (here and here). Others advocate for the celebration of the holiday from different perspectives. Some writers perceive the holiday as a way of embracing certain values, as something of particular importance to new converts to Islam or as an opportunity to be thankful for the good grace bestowed upon many Muslims. The celebrations also seem to include halal turkey to Pamela Geller’s dismay!

Nonetheless, the holiday does not invite the paraphernalia that occasions like Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha do. Thus, there is very little media coverage of Muslim women’s participation in Thanksgiving and virtually no halal turkey recipes or tutorials led by Muslim women online (which although often quite gendered, remain an important part of other celebrations). In fact, except for a couple of articles written by Kari Ansari and Ellen from I, Muslimah, Muslim women are quite invisible media-wise in the preparation and celebration of this holiday.

Whereas one can speculate about why this is, I find it quite interesting that talks about Muslim participation in Thanksgiving are led by men, as demonstrated by the above links, 90% of which are written by men or express the opinions of men. It would seem that much of the community-to-community liaising becomes newsworthy when men in both communities are at the forefront. For instance, the very few articles featuring Muslim engagement in this year’s Canadian Thanksgiving focus on the efforts of a Muslim community in Saskatoon that will be providing free driving/taxi services for those wanting to be home for the holidays. Although the article is not concerned with gender per se, the majority of Muslim taxi drivers in Canada (and of taxi drivers in general) are men.

Now, I know for a fact that Muslim women (and men too), particularly those in universities, will be assisting shelters and missions to cook and serve Thanksgiving dinner for people living with housing and food insecurity. However, that does not seem to be newsworthy these days.

And on top of the gender dimension, I find that many pieces written by Muslims regarding Thanksgiving are uncritical of the colonial past, the situation of immigrants in Canada and the complicity of some immigrants in the rhetoric that has led to the expropriation of Indigenous land for the sake of a “Multicultural Canada.” In that regard I appreciate the insights of my fellow Muslimah Media Watch writers, who, although not specifically about this holiday, have made efforts to connect the dots of oppression and solidarity (a piece by Sharrae and a piece by Krista).

On my end, this year I decided that I must be thankful. But not in the colonial way. Given a recent loss in my life I am undoubtedly thankful about seeing the light of another day and having the strength to continue. But more than that, I am particularly thankful for being able to share the struggles of social justice and the reinterpretation of history with people who have found the words to critique holidays like Thanksgiving.

Previous Post

October 10, 2014

Friday Links | October 10, 2014

Next Post

October 15, 2014 South Africa’s Open Mosque : Media, Feminist Critiques and “Unopen” Mosques.

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advertisements Art/Theater Books/Magazines Cinema Comics/Cartoons Culture/Society Events Fashion Film Friday Links Merchandise/Commodities MMW Announcements MMW Highlights Music/Radio News Photography Politics Profile Ramadan 2012 Ramadan 2013 Ramadan 2014 Ramadan 2015 Roundtable Satire Social Media Sports Technology/Science Television Uncategorized Video Web

Select a Month November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, 'Let my people go'?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Moses Elijah Aaron Joshua