TACKLING ANTI-MUSLIM HATE.
Canada needs consequences for intolerance
`Inalillahi wainailaihi rajiun” (translation: “To God we belong, and to Him we shall return.”) The phrase is commonly recited by Muslims, especially upon hearing bad news that has befallen oneself or another person, both as a sign of patience and acknowledgment.
In January 2018, a gunman opened fire inside a mosque in Quebec City. The massacre resulted in six widows and left 17 children without fathers. Yet, three days after this act of terror, worshippers walked through the mosque's doors again. And Canadian Muslims collectively recited, “Inalillahi wainailaihi rajiun.”
Less than four years later, a driver slammed into a Muslim family out for a stroll in London, Ont. This time, the terror attack killed four people and left one child seriously injured. Nonetheless, two days after the lethal assault, Muslim families started to walk through the streets of London again. And once again, Canadian Muslims collectively recited, “Inalillahi wainailaihi rajiun.”
Muslims want to live in peace. Yet, despite all the calls to action and the promises, in the days following each attack, Islamophobic hate in Canada only increased. During the year of the Quebec shooting alone, there were 349 incidents of police-reported hate crimes against Muslims in Canada. That was an increase of 151 percentage points from the previous year of 2016, which saw 139 such reports.
Anti-muslim hate and Islamophobia did not grow overnight in Canada. Rather, neglect and the purposeful escalation of hate — in public statements and in proposed public policies — by leaders of different stripes has embedded hatred in our country's cultural and political fabric.
The truth is, it is our political leadership who should be held accountable for allowing this polarization to take place. They must be taken to task for unleashing Islamophobic discourse over the years, which has only exacerbated anti-muslim hate today. There are few consequences for expressing hatred — giving room to some to publicly express their prejudices, discrimination and hate.
We, the Muslim community, are on edge. To those who do not live in Canada, our country can seem flawless. We live in a world where intolerance and hate are spreading. Yet, those in power are doing a poor job of upholding such basic principles as the rule of law, equity and human rights.
It is in this turbulent world that Canada stands to many as the Western world's utopia. Democracy, freedom, peace, security, multiculturalism and diversity are all values that Canada seeks to uphold, but the rise in anti-muslim hate has become a life-threatening issue, which shows that we are falling short as a nation.
For some historical context, Muslims have been in Canada since before Confederation. As with immigrants in general, those Muslims who have immigrated to Canada have come here seeking higher education, employment opportunities and family reunification.
Others have come for religious and political freedom, and safety and security, leaving behind civil wars, persecution and other forms of civil and ethnic conflict.
Thankfully, Canada has historically been a refuge for Muslims. As such, Canadian Muslims have an overwhelmingly strong sense of pride in Canada. Nevertheless, we are met with violence, despair and potentially death. That is why we must recognize the need to quell the increasing climate of hate and fear; and we must condemn anti-muslim hate and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination.
At the end of the day, to God we belong to, and to Him we shall return.
Still, I pray that in this dunya (world), we can live in peace and prosperity. I pray that we can have mercy on one another. I pray that we can open our hearts towards our neighbours. I pray that we are guided towards the path of justice and equity. I pray that we can remember that love is a decision, and that the choice should always be love.
Amen.