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The Islamic Studies Research Group at the University of Saskatchewan, in collaboration with St. Thomas More College invites paper proposals for its first conference “Islam on the Prairies.”Keynote speakers are: Dr. Ingrid Mattson  (London and Windsor Community Chair in Islamic Studies at Huron University College, Western University)Zarqa Nawaz  (Creator of Little Mosque on the Prairies; author of Laughing All the Way to the Mosque)The second day of the conference will also include a public discussion of the roles of religious communities in modern society, an interfaith dialogue panel from representatives around the city, and presentations by The Star Phoenix, CBC Saskatchewan, Saskatoon City Police, and  Saskatoon NGOs.Islam has a long history on Canadian soil, with the first mosque built on the prairies in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1938. Statistics Canada (2001) counted nearly 600,000 Muslims, making Islam the fastest growing religion in the country. As Muslims are still in the dialogic process of negotiating how their belief and identities fit in the Canadian environments, the need to understand their everyday lives and how they make sense of their position in Canadian society cannot be exaggerated.For the past ten years, along with other prairies provinces, Saskatchewan has seen an overwhelming increase of different cultures, ethnicities and religions migrating into the province. With the change of Saskatchewan demographics, its identity is also changing, and many questions about this process have risen from the community. Our conference aims to explore the growing presence of Islam on the prairies and in other Canadian provinces, implications of this process, and to provide a dynamic space for the presentations and discussions on issues related to Muslims in Canada. We also aim to facilitate collaboration among scholars and researchers across disciplines, and to disseminate the latest research findings in the form of an edited volume exclusively focused on Islam on the prairies and elsewhere in Canada.We welcome scholars from a wide range of social science and humanities disciplines to submit their 350-words abstract that fall within the following topics:Islam, Pluralism, and Diversity in the Canadian context;Islamic law, rituals, and ethics in everyday life of Muslim Canadians;Mosques and Muslim Canadian institutions;Off-line and on-line public spheres for Muslim Canadians;Prairie/Canadian identity and Islam;Religious accommodation in the work place;Gender issues among Muslim Canadians;New Canadian Legislation (Bill C-24, Bill C-51) and its implications for Muslims.The deadline for the submission of abstracts for 20-minute presentations is 30 October 2015 (submitted electronically to islam.prairies@usask.ca ). Your abstract should contain your name, email, and institutional affiliation directly after the title of your presentation. Notice of acceptance will be sent within two weeks from the abstract deadline submission date.Authors interested in publication of their papers in the conference proceedings should submit their final papers by January 15th electronically to islam.prairies@usask.ca. The papers should be in MS Word format, and no more than 7,000 words in length. Paper acceptance in the proceedings will be announced by January 30th, 2016.Registration fee is C$110 for the presenter and academic participants, (including conference proceedings), C$30 for students, and C$10 for community participants (valid only on the second day). Students and other participants may purchase conference proceedings on site for C$10. Registration fees should be sent by personal check issued to Department of Linguistics and Religious Studies, University of Saskatchewan. Please send your registration fees (personal check) accompanied by a note with your presentation title, your name, e-mail address, and institutional affiliation, in an envelope, by post. Please address the envelope with your check and an accompanying note to:Fachrizal HalimDepartment of Linguistics and Religious StudiesArts Building, 910-9 Campus Drive,University of SaskatchewanSaskatoon, SK,  S7N5A5.If you have any questions about the conference, please e-mail islam.prairies@usask.ca