'Settling' the multicultural nation-state: Little Mosque on the Prairie, and the figure of the 'moderate Muslim'

This paper analyzes Little Mosque on the Prairie, its characters and themes within the context of post-9/11 discourses of nationalism and citizenship. Against the backdrop of the Canadian national narrative, I argue that the sitcom foregrounds a moderate Muslim' that demarcates the boundaries of the multicultural nation-state, especially when juxtaposed against the racially and sexually coded Muslim other' on the global landscape. The moderate Muslim is represented as liberal' and modern', one who seeks to integrate her faith into the multicultural fabric of society. Such a figure, represented both as a good' Muslim/immigrant and a good' Canadian citizen-subject, illuminates the boundaries of acceptability' within the Canadian national imaginary. The figure of the moderate Muslim reinforces the racial coding embedded in this imaginary, while enabling the state to proclaim its multicultural tolerance' and benevolence. Building on previous scholarship on race, citizenship, and nation-building, I argue that the moderate Muslim - as exemplified in Little Mosque on the Prairie - serves important ideological functions in (re)defining the internal (and racially coded) borders of the nation. While Little Mosque on the Prairie makes an important contribution to the representation of Muslims, challenging some stereotypes, I argue that it does not deliver on its considerable potential to articulate nuanced representations of Muslims. Through its foregrounding of the figure of the moderate Muslim, the sitcom reaffirms key norms, engages in a politics of authenticity, and reinforces hegemonic messages, both within Muslim communities and in Canadian society. Thus, the moderate Muslim becomes a key player in enabling the state to render invisible its exclusion of the Muslim Other,' while maintaining its non-racist credentials.