Sport and Muslim men in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada: an exploratory study

Abstract

This study is based on semi-structured interviews with nine Muslim men, between 19 and 25 years of age, living in the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada, about their sport experiences. Study participants tried to balance their sporting interests with their desire to follow their faith, demonstrating varying degrees and dimensions of social inclusion. Sometimes physical education teachers and coaches facilitated inclusion, especially with regards to prayers and limiting activity levels during Ramadan. In contrast, with respect to factors not directly part of the game or sport, the men had to negotiate and reconcile conflicts between their beliefs and some of the normalized practices within the sport culture they were in. This included gendered norms of coarse and sexualized language, alcohol consumption and the provision of non-halal food. A few participants therefore found it far more comfortable and easier to participate in Muslim-led or Islamic informed sport.