Sufi Muslims in Montréal: Tensions between Cosmopolitanism and the Cultural Economy of Difference

Abstract

In this article, I describe how expressions of West
ern modernity—secularism, tolerance and cosmopolitanism—
are articulated in post-9/11 Quebec. I explore the socio-political
relevance of the appeal to cosmopolitanism in a neoliberal
post-Cold War context where modern ideals of secularism
have been deeply unsettled and the idea of post-secularism is
taking hold. I consider how some Muslims, members of a Sufi
circle, initiate forms of civic participation that position Islam as
a site for intercultural negotiation and for the articulation of
cosmopolitan religious identities. A discourse on spirituality
brings together Sufi mysticism and a local Québécois version
of openness to sociocultural diversity.