Rival rallies descend on City Hall
Group against Ottawa’s motion to condemn Islamophobia meets its match in Hamilton in counter-demonstration
Hate and fear are dangerous weapons.
That’s the message as about 300 people converged on Hamilton City Hall on Saturday in rival demonstrations that saw tears and yelling matches halted by Hamilton Police.
“Islamophobia is a powerful weapon,” said Lina Assi, a McMaster student and member of Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights.
“It’s no less damaging than a missile fired from an F-16 plane.”
Assi was one of a handful of speakers for Hamilton Against Fascism, a group rallying in response to an opposing protest planned for the same time and location.
The Canadian Coalition of Concerned Citizens (CCCC), a Montreal-based group fighting M-103 — a government motion to condemn Islamophobia and track incidents of hate crimes — first said they would rally in Hamilton as part of 66 protests in cities across the country.
But the CCCC was largely outnumbered outside City Hall.
“I hope the Hamilton community recognizes Islamophobia is a phenomenon that’s here and alive,” Assi said.
No sooner had she said it, there came a commotion from the back of the rally causing officers and the four mounted police horses on
the scene to move toward them.
“Ninety per cent of Muslims don’t work. You don’t work,” yelled a senior who identified himself only as a one-time immigrant to Hamilton from The Netherlands.
He was alone in a crowd of opposing protesters who stood in disbelief, yelling at him to go home.
“That hit home. It hurt,” said Saad Zafar in tears. “I work and I work hard. I am a proud Muslim.”
It’s unclear how many people were actually with the CCCC, as many opposing motion M-103 were calling themselves independent.
“We’re here to fight for our freedom of speech,” said Lisa Givens, one such protester who was quickly descended upon by other demonstrators.
“It’s our God-given right to have free speech.”
Givens says she is against M-103 because it singles out Islam when so many other religions face the same persecution.
She walked through the crowd with her pink sign that read: “Save our free speech.”
“They jumped on us like we were dressed like KKK,” she said. “I am not a white supremacist. I do not believe whites are superior or above the rest.”
She says the crowd yanked her sign and she felt compelled to leave.
“We weren’t the hostile ones,” she said.
No one was injured in the rally, nor were there any arrests.
“It ran smoothly, there were no issues,” said Hamilton Police Staff Sgt. Nancy Lantz. “We were told people were glad we were there.”
In Montreal, supporters and opponents of M-103 physically clashed as tempers flared. Photos across social media show protesters kicking and punching one another. A similar scene unfolded outside Toronto City Hall, where some counterprotesters were escorted away by Toronto police. Photos show police tackling one protester to the ground.
Martin Rosso, a local resident who helped organize the Hamilton Against Fascism rally, says the event was successful in bringing the communities together.
“It shows Hamilton is committed to stopping fascism.”
Respect comes from not agreeing with our thought process, but understanding, says Anas Khan, a member of Aware Muslim, an organization that set up an information booth at the Hamilton protest. He felt encouraged by the turnout in support of them.
“We’re happy a lot of people are ready to defend our multicultural and tolerant Canadian Society.”
Khan admits it’s the pockets of hate that operate within cities like Hamilton and around the world that he worries about.
“I’m here to support the Muslims,” said Shaki Tosza, standing in the crowd.
“We are all united. You can’t treat anyone differently. Muslims are good people.”
Ward 3 Councillor Matthew Greene was also there.
“We are having a values conversation in this country.
“People use hate as a weapon,” he said.
“Today it’s about solidarity for people who’ve been targeted. They’re all coming together to state they want to keep Canada as an inclusive country. I applaud everyone for making this a peaceful rally.” With files from The Canadian Press rgrover@thespec.com 905-526-3404 | @RosieSpec