How an app can help fight Islamophobia
New tool allows incidents to be reported without fear
Anti-muslim hate has led to more deaths in Canada than in any other G7 country in recent years. According to the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), between mid-october and mid-november 2023, there were 274 reported hate incidents across Canada.
This shocking revelation becomes more distressing given the known issue of under-reporting — a significant challenge faced when collecting and analyzing hate crime data in Canada.
“We cannot afford to wait any longer,” reported the Canadian Senate Committee on Human Rights, which conducted an exploratory study on Islamophobia in September 2023.
“As leaders, we are quick to condemn Islamophobia in the aftermath of violent tragedies, but we have been slow to act to protect Muslim communities,” said Sen. Amina Gerba. The committee aims to identify concrete solutions by gaining a better understanding of this detrimental issue sweeping the nation.
Not only can Islamophobia kill, but it results in devastating mental health effects, such as depression, fear, anxiety, low self-esteem and psychological distress. Anti-muslim rhetoric comes in many forms such as physical aggression, unemployment and racial profiling. Muslims live in a constant state of “fight or flight” because of the insecurity resulting from hate-motivated crimes.
Mohamad El Hafid, a survivor of the 2017 Quebec mosque shooting, said in the study: “Every time I enter a mosque, I'm on guard and stressed, monitoring the faithful as they enter and leave. Perhaps, who knows, someone, an intruder, may fire on us. It's an enormous and unbearable stress.”
Research shows the combined effect of Islamophobia and racial discrimination can lead to a three-fold increase in stigma among the Muslim majority, causing social isolation. Avoidant attitudes toward Muslims lead to perceptions of alienation, resulting in low self-esteem and confidence and a lost sense of belonging.
It's not enough to acknowledge the existence of Islamophobia in Canada. We must also take action. As public health professionals, we can appreciate how evidence — stats, counts, data — can serve as a powerful tool to implement protective measures, as was witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Evidence-informed policies require evidence and third-party reporting can serve as a potential tool to obtain the numbers required to drive change.
The Islamophobia-motivated Incident Reporting Tool (IMIRT) is a mobile app developed by the Salaheddin Islamic Centre and the Dar Al-tawheed Islamic Centre, both based in the Greater Toronto Area, with support from the Canadian Race Relations Foundation and NCCM. It empowers the Muslim community to report incidents anonymously to the NCCM and has clear policies for privacy and secure data storage. While it can provide counselling and support, it is not a substitute for law enforcement in serious hate crimes.
Barbara Perry, director of the Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism at Ontario Tech University, explains that third-party reporting tools such as IMIRT provide avenues to bridge the growing gap of reporting hate-motivated incidents. Concerns of negative attention and additional victimization can discourage individuals from going to the police, as shown by research conducted by Amira Elghawaby, Canada's special representative on combating Islamophobia. The app, similar to the community-based victim service program offered to victims of sexual offences in British Columbia, allows for trends to be reported to police on behalf of the victims, without the victim being directly involved.
As rates of Islamophobia continue to skyrocket and negative views toward Muslims remain high, the need for action is urgent. Gaining better insights into the sources, determinants and effects of hate allows researchers to plan for preventive interventions and better inform policymakers.
Third-party reporting tools may be the instrument needed to help the community speak up and report their experiences and receive support and justice, without fear.
The IMIRT app can be found on Google Play or the App Store.