With the Appointment of Amira Elghawaby, Will Canada’s Efforts Succeed in Confronting Islamophobia?

On Thursday, January 26, 2023, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed activist Amira Elghawaby as the country’s first representative to combat Islamophobia, racial discrimination, and religious intolerance.

Amira Elghawaby is a former journalist and founding member of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network (CAN), and was instrumental in the creation of the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), the country’s largest Muslim advocacy organization.

In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office said that in her capacity as Special Representative, Elghawaby will “serve as a champion, advisor, expert, and representative to support and enhance the federal government’s efforts in the fight against Islamophobia, systemic racism, racial discrimination, and religious intolerance.”

Specifically, she will advise the Trudeau government on what policies and legislation should be introduced to counter the threat of Islamophobia.

The Trudeau government’s latest budget for 2022 included C$85 million (US$69 million) to fund a national action plan to tackle racism over the next four years.

Mustafa Farooq, CEO of the National Council of Muslims of Canada, said that the allocation of this budget shows that combating Islamophobia is no longer just words but ultimately leads to action.

 

Special Representative

In turn, Stephen Brown, CEO of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, praised the appointment of Amira Elghawaby. While at the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, Amira was a passionate human rights advocate and fought many crucial battles for our society at a time when we needed a hero, Brown said.

He added: “Realistically, I’m not sure if there would be an NCCM without Amira.” Brown concluded, “We look forward to continuing to work with her, her office, and all those who want to eliminate the threat of Islamophobia in Canada.”

The website of the Prime Ministry in Canada said that Mrs. Elghawaby has extensive experience in supporting initiatives to combat hate and promote inclusion, and was a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Network Against Hate, and served on the Board of Directors of the Silk Road Institute.

In addition, she served two terms as the Canadian Commission for Democratic Expression’s Commissioner for the Public Policy Forum. She is currently a member of the National Security Transparency Advisory Group, an independent panel that advises the Deputy Secretary of Public Safety.

It should be noted that Elghawaby graduated from the Faculty of Journalism at Carleton University in Canada and worked for a short time for the CBC network in Ottawa after her graduation, and she currently contributes an independent column to the Toronto Star newspaper.

 

‘We Appreciate the Efforts’

In an interview with Al-Estiklal, Marouane Kan, a Muslim living in Montreal, Canada, said: “We really appreciate the government’s efforts to tackle Islamophobia. It is really important for us as Muslims to feel safe in our country.”

He explained: “After the successive attacks on mosques. Now the mosques close their doors in order to avoid the penetration of extremists. We use electronic cards to access mosques in Canada. This is sad. We hope the mosques could stay open and accessible for anyone who is curious about knowing the Islamic teaching and practices or the way Muslims pray. I hope for the spread of more tolerance and love in Canada.”

He added: “We do not expect Islamophobia to stop definitely, because hate speech is unfortunately fueling violence all over the world. However, it is the government’s duty to take many measures to stop hate crimes and violence and to protect us as Canadian Muslim citizens.”

Canada recently recorded a significant increase in the number of hate crimes reported to the police, as the number of crimes increased from 2,646 in 2022 to 3,360 in 2021, or 27%. This is after the number of hate crimes increased by 36% in 2020, meaning that their number increased by 72% between 2019 and 2022, according to Canadian government data.

Despite Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s repeated statements that diversity is the secret of his country’s strength, recent years have witnessed events that indicate the growing amount of hatred against Muslims in it.

Muslims in Canada faced significant hostility and incitement after the events of September 11, 2001, in the United States.

 

Hate Crimes

The hatred culminated in the horrific attack on a Quebec mosque in 2017, when a gunman killed 6 Muslims and wounded 19 others during evening prayers, in an incident that was condemned by most Canadians and all levels of government in the country.

In June 2021, a run-over incident occurred against a Muslim family of Pakistani origin in London, Ontario, killing 4 of its members as they were deliberately run over by a truck driver named Nathaniel Feltman (20 years old).

On April 16, 6 worshipers were wounded in a drive-by shooting outside a mosque in Toronto.

Canada is the second largest country in the world in terms of area, with a population of about 38 million, but the seeds of racism were sown in all of its ten provinces, especially the most populous in Ontario and Quebec, and the far Northern provinces.

With regard to hate crimes based on religion, Canada recorded an increase in the targeting of Jews by 47%, Muslims by 71%, and Catholic Christians by 261%. This is after a decrease in the number of crimes targeting the Muslim community in Canada during 2020.

On the other hand, the National Council of Canadian Muslims expressed its sadness over the increase in crimes targeting Muslims during 2021, which, it said in a tweet, had witnessed a tragic jump in the number of crimes against Muslims.

The Council, a human rights association concerned with defending the rights of Muslims in Canada, indicated that the announced numbers do not reflect the true picture, as we know that the real numbers are much more than what is declared.

The Council stressed the need for joint action to eliminate all forms of hatred in the country.

On January 30, the Prime Minister of Canada announced that his government would work with Muslim