ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Islamic Business Ethics The Non-Muslim Work Environment ================================== The Non-Muslim Work Environment [^1] Introduction According to the 2001 census of Canada, the number of Muslim s has increased considerably, especially in cosmopolitan cities like Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa.

The census shows that Muslims are the fourth largest religious group in the country, after Catholics, Protestants and those who have just identified themselves as 'Christians'. An important factor in this immigration trend is Canada's fame as a just society when it comes to dealing with the minorities. How should the Muslims live as a minority in the West in general and in Canada in particular? There are two important principles that should guide the conduct of Muslims as a minority.

First Principle of Conduct as a Minority It is the duty of the minority to respect the host society and to treat it with justice and fairness just as we would expect the host society to be just and fair to the minorities. The first migration in the history of Islam took place when Muslims found themselves being persecuted by the Meccan majority.

The (s.a.w) advised the Muslims to migrate to Abyssinia and the reason why he chose that country was, in his own words, because "it is ruled by a king under whom no one is dealt with unjustly." Therefore, justice should be the criterion for migrating to a country.

In addition, it is the duty of the Muslim minority to reciprocate by dealing with the host society on the basis of justice and fairness, rather to go even further, and imbibe the sense of concern and well-being for the good of the society and the country. Second Principle of Conduct as a Minority As a minority, it' is very easy for the next and then the third generation’s to quickly melt into the host society and lose the essential values of slam and their Muslim heritage.

Therefore, it is important to inculcate within ourselves and in our next generation the importance of maintaining the essential values of the Islamic faith and even the wise traditions of our cultures. After all, Canadian society is a mosaic of multi-culturalism. There are two aspects of preserving Islamic values and traditions: on the personal level and on the social level.

(a) In personal and private matters, it is very easy to maintain and preserve our values: Muslims can abide by their Islamic dress code, their dietary rules, and their religious way of praying, etc.