Policy Outcomes in the Accommodation of Muslim Minorities: Public Education in Scotland and Quebec

Like many polities in the Global North, Scotland and Quebec have addressed demands for institutional accommodation by Muslim minorities. Education has been a popular field for these claims to be made, with Muslims in both jurisdictions focusing on the public funding of Islamic schools and the accommodation of needs in public secular schools. The responses to these demands have diverged, with Quebec surpassing Scotland on both issues. In this paper, I seek to understand this variation. I will examine key education policies that addressed religious accommodation in Scotland and Quebec, and consider how these policies shaped the political terrain that Muslims were confronted with when making their demands. First, I will argue religious accommodation policy in Scotland historically has favoured the Catholic minority population, reinforcing the Catholic hierarchy’s power in education over time, with other religious groups unable to balance this influence and power. When Muslims began making demands in the late 20th century, they faced an inhospitable terrain, and any attempts to find allies with other religious groups proved fruitless. Moreover, the powerful Catholic hierarchy was ambivalent towards Muslim demands or for advocating on their behalf. Ultimately Muslim advocacy on these issues was short and mostly ineffective, leading to partial accommodation. In Quebec, the major education reforms during the Quiet Revolution in the 1960s saw the province absorb the education system from the Catholic and Protestant communities, with the exception of religious education. This field was still dominated by powerful religious groups leaving little room for newer forms of religious diversity to exert influence. I will demonstrate that attempts by successive governments to adapt this policy to reflect Quebec's diversifying population, as well as advocacy efforts by human-rights and secular groups, saw the interests of Muslims represented in the new reforms introduced in the late 20th century. Thus, while Muslims in Quebec had virtually no advocacy presence in education, they have received better accommodation than their Scottish counterparts. I will then conclude with a discussion on the implications this has for Muslim integration and belonging in both jurisdictions. While Muslim needs have been represented to varying degrees in both Scotland and Quebec, the limited agency from Muslim communities in shaping these outcomes is apparent. What this means for the full participation of Muslims in the political community requires consideration.