Perspectives of Immigrant Muslim Parents: Advocating for Religious Diversity in Canadian Schools.

cal multiculturalism and minority group rights. The term multiculturalism includes a plurality of meanings and definitions. According to Kincheloe and Steinberg (1997), there are five prevailing philosophical positions that inform multicultural policies and practices: conservative, liberal, pluralist, radical, and critical. The conservative approach presumes the superiority of Eurocentric values and beliefs and Christianity, devalues immigrants’ native cultures and religions, and places uneven expectations on immigrants to conform over time to the norms, values, and religious traditions of the receiving society (Li, 2003). The liberal position acknowledges diversity, but has a low level of tolerance of non-Christian faiths. It superficially focuses on the neutrality of secularism, a separation of church and state. In reality such separation does not exist in Canada…