North African Muslim Immigrant Families in Canada Giving Meaning to and Coping With the War on Terror

Abstract

This article documents North African Muslim parent and youth perceptions about the war on terror, along with the relationship between families’ assignation of meaning and coping strategies and Algerian and Moroccan histories. Results confirm the hurt associated with the negative representations of Muslims and Arabs in North America. Parents try to protect their children through avoidance and through the transmission of pride about their identities and traditions. However, differences between the Algerian and Moroccan families suggest that the recent political history of their respective countries of origin has a direct impact on these families’ coping strategies.

KEYWORDS:

• Immigrant
• North Africa
• Canada
• terrorism
• discrimination
• identity introduction