Paper short abstract:

Not applicaple

Paper long abstract:

: In the context of Bangladeshi Bengali migration to Canada and immigrants' cultural, religious and social practices within a new transnational location, multiculturalism as "cultural pluralism" (Wilson 1993); "acceptance and tolerance" (Berry 1990); device of integration (Abu-Laban and Stasiulis 1992) and "a new form of nationalism" (Mackey 1999) in Canada demands critical examination. Based on doctoral field research among three major religious groups (Muslims, Hindus, and Christians) of Bangladeshi immigrants in Toronto, and my current lived experience in Winnipeg, the primary objective of this paper is to underscore whether multicultural policy in Canada creating a free space for practicing culture, sharing diversity and accepting differences or creating a powerful white dominated hegemonic space by introducing various norms and rules. Furthermore, by practicing core local cultural practices, gendered norms, religious values and doctrines, and transnational Bangladeshi nationalism (created within colonial and post-colonial nationalist struggles), Bangladeshi immigrants are trying to create and recreate immigrant space as "areas of argument" (Werbner 1998) and "every day forms of resistance" (Scott 1985). Therefore, local, colonial and post-colonial cultural, religious and national identity struggles must be critically addressed within multicultural contexts. Ethnic culture can be contested, diversified and fragmented and therefore, it is problematic to see culture as a homogenous unit. In the context of current global "rhetoric" it could be more dangerous to put it in our celebratory multicultural box.