- Iraqi Canadian
Infobox Ethnic group
group = Iraqi Canadian
poptime = 29,950 [ [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/topics/RetrieveProductTable.cfm?TPL=RETR&ALEVEL=3&APATH=3&CATNO=&DETAIL=0&DIM=&DS=99&FL=0&FREE=0&GAL=0&GC=99&GK=NA&GRP=1&IPS=&METH=0&ORDER=1&PID=92333&PTYPE=88971&RL=0&S=1&ShowAll=No&StartRow=1&SUB=801&Temporal=2006&Theme=80&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= Ethnic Origin (247), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3) and Sex (3) for the Population of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2006 Census] ]
popplace =British Columbia ,Quebec ,Ontario ,Alberta
langs = English, Arabic,Quebec French
rels = PredominantlyMuslim (bothSunni andShia ) and Christian (mostly Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic), with minorities who followJudaism andAtheism
related = OtherIraqi people Iraqi Canadians come from a country of great ethno-linguistic and religious diversity. An estimated 36,000 Iraqi expatriates reside in
Canada . Several thousand Canadians are of Iraqi descent.History
Emigration from Iraq to Canada has increased dramatically due to political and economic situations in
Iraq . TheIraq-Iran War resulted in many immigrants, while destroying the Iraqi economy and being oppressed by the 13 yeareconomic sanctions against Iraq that have followed theGulf War of 1990–91; there was all the more reason to emigrate abroad.From 1945 until 1975 fewer than 200 Iraqis arrived in Canada cite web | url =http://www.multiculturalcanada.ca/ecp/content/iraqis.html | title =Multicultural Canada | accessdate =2007-08-14 | publisher =multiculturalcanada.ca] emigration had substaintially increased in 1979, the yearSaddam Hussein became president of Iraq. Between 1975 and 1992, 6,472 Iraqis arrived in Canada establishing about 3.5 percent of all Arab immigrants in Canada . About 65 percent of Iraqis have settled inQuebec ,&British Columbia , particularly in Vancouver, and most of the remainder inMontreal . There are equal numbers from both males and females.The
1991 Canadian census recorded 4,790 Iraqis; 3,525 of wholly Iraqi ancestry, and 1,265 of partial Iraqi ancestry. Iraqi immigrants through the period of 1981-1992 settled principally in a few cities in Canada: British Columbia (362), Alberta (268), Quebec (203), Ontario (176), and Manitoba (152).Employment
The main factor for the immigration of Iraqis was due to the Gulf War and the situation in Iraq which drove them out of their homeland.In Canada, Iraqi immigrants seem to face three unexplainable problems, the first being unable to find jobs where they can apply their professional expertise. The second being discrimination, with a possibility that some employers associate them with the regime that they fled and the third being the lack of Canadian experience. Despite a high level of education and professional experience, 54 percent of 892 immigrants were unemployed, and, of the 407 with jobs, 40 percent had professional positions; 24 percent, lower
white-collar ; 30 percent,blue-collar ; 3 percent, service; and 3 percent, not stated.Community life
The patterns of formal association among Iraqis are new and voluntary, as revealed most notably in the
Iraqi Canadian Society in Ottawa andIraqi House in Montreal. They help Iraqis adapt to Canada and develop ties with the general society, and they disseminate information about the ethnocultural heritage of Iraqi Canadians. Gender equity is the norm; the president of the Iraqi Canadian Society is a woman.Culture
Despite differences in dialect, Iraqi Canadians see themselves as Arabs. Almost all Iraqi immigrants wish to maintain the Arabic language in both oral and written forms. Because young children and Canadian-born ones cannot easily learn reading and writing skills, more emphasis is put on teaching oral skills. Many Canadian-born can understand spoken Arabic without being able to speak it. Gender equity, which has expanded in Iraq itself, is encouraged in Canada. Marriage for both males and females remains principally endogamous.
Iraqi Canadians have their own community newsletters, and almost all Iraqi-born read magazines, books, and newspapers written in
Arabic and published outside Canada. Cultural products imported from Iraq or other parts of theArab world are an essential component of family life, including videotapes of Arabic films, plays, and songs and cassette tapes of Arabic music. Visits by well-known popular singers from Iraq and other Arab countries are very common.Children of both Christian and Muslim Iraqi Canadians are taught to respect and be proud of their cultural heritage. While they are sensitized to the problems of the old country, they are admonished to adjust to the new land and to address the opportunities and problems faced here. The longer the residence in Canada, the less the role of the family in fostering ethnic identity. Canadian-born children are keenly responsive to the pressure of acculturation, as facilitated particularly by public schools, the peer group, and the mass media. Therefore ancestral ties and the old country become secondary.
In Iraq, adult literacy in 1980 was 70 percent, and the excellent, secular education system was open to both sexes. Most Iraqi immigrants to Canada are highly educated professionals, and their children will almost certainly place a great value on educational achievement.
There is a sizable number of Iraqi Christians in Canada.Christian denominations include
Eastern Orthodox ,Protestant ,Nestorian , and several rites ofCatholicism . The remaining 40 percent are Muslims, eitherShiite orSunni . In contrast to Iraq, where just over half the country’s Muslims are Shiite, among Iraqis in Canada as in the Arab world as a whole, Sunni are by far the majority.Prominent Iraqis in Canada and Canadians of Iraqi descent
*
The Narcicyst , rapper
*Baz Shamoun , film director and maker of short documentaryWhere is Iraq?
*Rifat Mohammed Rifat
*Naïm Kattan , author/novelist and critic
*Anisa Mehdi , Emmy Award winning film director, journalist and director of "Inside Mecca "
*Muayyed Nureddin , geologist [ [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2004/01/15/newnureddin040115.html Iraqi released from Syrian jail] ]
*Joe Balass , film maker
*Omar Hashim , sound-designer and film maker
*Leilah Nadir , writer
*Farah Nosh , photojournalist
*Ishrak Sahar , artist
*Ahmad Ahmad , artist [ [http://www.diversehamilton.ca/artists_visual_Ahmad.html Diverse Hamilton Online : Empowering Emerging Communities ] ]
*Firas Al-Atraqchi , writer [ [http://www.islamonline.net/livedialogue/english/Guestcv.asp?hGuestID=o0IbFw IslamonLine.net ] ]
*Dr. Ala Almosawie , Technology Executive [ [http://www.e-education.ca IESI - International e-Education and Training Services Inc.. - Canada ] ]
*Ousama Rawi , cinematographer [ [http://members.cox.net/rjd0309/tush/1970.htm Iraq born Canadian Cinematographer] ]
*Philip Attar , graphic designer [ [http://www.philipattar.com/] ]
*Adel Al-Naser , artist [ [http://www.canadianarabcommunity.com/makingadifferenceincanada.php] ]
*Abu Abdul Rahman , suspected terroristExternal links
* The Iraqi Canadian Society of Ontario http://www.icsociety.org/
* Iraqi Canadian Association of Hamilton http://www.icahamilton.com/
* Canada-Iraq Marshlands Initiative http://www.cimiwetlands.net/
* Iraqi Canadian Embassy http://iraqembassy.ca/
* Iraqi Canadian Business Council http://wwww.iraqicanadian.com/gpage.html
* Canadian Arab Friendship Association http://www.cafaedmonton.ca/
* "Walk for Iraq" Canada http://www.walkforiraq.com/?page_id=31References
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