Islamophobia and Canada...

Awave of Islamophobia is spreading across Europe and the United States of America, fuelling incidents across Europe and North America. Canada has not been in the news and many people across the Globe think that it is a country free of Islamophobia. However, things have started changing in Canada. Most recently, there have been couple fatal incidences linked to Islamophobia in the Eastern Canada. The one major occurred on January 29, 2017 in which six people were reported dead after a mass shooting at a mosque in Quebec City’s Sainte-Foy neighbourhood. Historically, Canadian society has largley been a representative of multiculturalism, but things started changing after the events of September Eleventh, the eight years’ ruling of the Conservative Party of Canada, poor economic conditions across North America, the rise of far right in Europe and advent of Donald Trump as the president of the United States of America. The media has played an important role in the propagation and building of Islamophobic thinking. In an article published in AlterNet, dated July 24, 2013, Alex Henderson has mentioned that: “The media tried to paint terrorism as a largely or exclusively Islamic phenomenon. Islam is inherently violent, Christianity is inherently peaceful, and there is no such thing as a Christian terrorist or a white male terrorist. But the facts don’t bear that out. When white males of the far right carry out violent attacks, neocons and Republicans typically describe them as lone-wolf extremists rather than people who are part of terrorist networks or well-organized terrorist movements. In fact, most of the terrorist activity occurring in the United States in recent years has not come from Muslims, but from a combination of radical Christianists, white supremacists and far-right militia groups.” In Canada, the discussion of Motion-103 became a main vehicle to reveal the hidden divide amongst the Canadians on the phenomenon of Islamophobia. It provided an opportunity to the mainstream political parties and public to express their opinion and attitude openly regarding the phenomenon of Islamophobia. It not only sparked heated debate across the country, but also spawned protests in several cities across Canada. Liberal Party MP Iqra Khalid from Mississauga, Ontario tabled Motion 103 on December 5th, 2016, but it was discussed and passed in the aftermath of the Quebec City mosque shooting during the Month of March 2017. The Motion 103 calls on government to condemn Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination. The text of the motion also asks the government to recognize the need to quell the increasing public climate of hate and fear, request the heritage committee study how the government could develop a government-wide approach to reduce or eliminate systemic racism and religious discrimination including Islamophobia, collect data to contextualize hate crime reports and to conduct needs assessments for impacted communities, and present findings within 240 calendar days. Iqra Khalid, described her experience as a “young, brown, Muslim, Canadian woman. When I moved to Canada in the 1990s, a young girl trying to make this nation my home, some kids in school would yell as they pushed me, ‘Go home, you Muslim’ — but I was home. I am among thousands of Muslims who have been victimized because of hate and fear,” she said. “I am a proud Canadian among hundreds and thousands of others who will not tolerate hate based on religion or skin colour. I rise today with my fellow Canadians to reject and condemn Islamophobia.” The motion was passed with 201 in favour and 91 against it. All NDP and nearly all Liberal MPs supported the motion. Most of the Conservative MPs voted against, with leadership candidate Michael Chong and Simcoe North MP Bruce Stanton voting in favour. Mississauga Liberal MP Gagan Sikand and Barrie Conservative MP Alex Nuttall both abstained. Some Conservative MPs said it could stifle free speech. CBC news reported on Feb 17, 2017 that more than a dozen people gathered outside a mosque in the heart of downtown Toronto with loudspeakers and banners in hand, shouting slogans about banning Islam as Muslims gathered to pray inside. The protest happened Friday outside Masjid Toronto on Dundas Street West near the University Avenue. A protester carrying a sign with a list of women’s names — victims of alleged honour killings — told CBC Toronto she was protesting Islam because when Muslim immigrants come to Canada “they don’t want to follow the law of the country.” Another woman gathered at the downtown mosque to challenge M-103, told CBC that “Islamophobia is not hate, Islam is hate.” The Daily Wire, founded by former Breitbart editor-at-large Ben Shapiro, called the motion a “draconian” measure that would consider “any and all” instances of Islamophobia as hate crimes. Jihad Watch, LifeSiteNews and The Rebel ran stories claiming the motion would be a “first step” toward imposing Islamic law, or Sharia. The Toronto Sun compared Islamophobia with “fake news” and “alternative facts” and said it was a “catch-all phrase to silence anyone critical of the religion.” The Gateway Pundit attacked Khalid, who was born in Pakistan, as a “radical Muslim immigrant.” Vid Nitkin and Tariq Khan, co-chairs of Muslim Jewish Dialogue of Toronto, wrote that “Like all religious groups, Muslims are already protected under our Charter of Rights and Freedoms and criminal law. They do not need a separate law which is supported by groups that have close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and in essence are trying to put in place a form of sharia blasphemy law,”. Some have warned that Canada is moving towards criminalizing Islamophobia or even to the implementation of Islamic law, in Canada. Barbara Kay, a columnist for the National Post and contributor to The Rebel Media, said she worries about M-103’s potential impact on freedom of expression and special protections for a single religious group. Kay said anti-hate speech laws have traditionally targeted human beings, not ideas. She questioned the need to single out Islamophobia, and argued there are more hate crimes against Jews than Muslims in Canada. Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau while answering a question on Motion M - 103, during a town hall meeting in Yellowknife said “fundamental rights and freedoms are enshrined in Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but that individual rights must be balanced with others in our society. Determining the parameters is an ongoing discussion in a dynamic, successful society like ours”, he said. Trudeau said the motion aims to address the fact there is a community that is “particularly vulnerable these days to intolerance and discrimination”. “You’re not allowed to call ‘Fire ’ in a crowded movie theatre and call that free speech”, Trudeau said. Although heated debate and protests are going on regarding the phenomena of Islamophobia but there is still no consensus on the understanding and meaning of the term Islamophobia. There are various viewpoints and perspectives how to define the phenomenon of the Islamophobia. The definition, causes and characteristics of Islamophobia are still being debated. There are three famous scholarly books about ‘Islamophobia’ by renowned academics; Todd Green, Chris Allen and Deepa Kumar. Todd Green is Associate Professor of Religion at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and author of the 2015 book ‘The Fear of Islam: An Introduction to Islamophobia in the West. Chris Allen is a Research Fellow in the Institute of Applied Social Studies, University of Birmingham, UK, and author of the 2010 book ‘Islamophobia’. Deepa Kumar is associate professor of media studies and Middle East studies at Rutgers University, and author of the 2012 book ‘Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire’. All these scholars in their books have attempted to define the phenomena of Islamophobia from their own perspectives, vision and empathies. Dr. Deepa Kumar’s analysis of the phenomena of Islamophobia is more coherent and allied to the ground realities of the day. Her analyse not only traces back the roots and history of Islamophobia but also shows how it is being utilised in the interest of the Empire. Dr. Deepa describes ‘Islamophobia’ as ‘anti-Muslim racism, the Muslim enemy, and anti-Muslim prejudice’ consciously constructed and deployed by the ruling elites. She also acknowledges that: “There is some debate on whether the term ‘Islamophobia’ is adequate to denote the phenomenon of cultural racism against Muslims.” Per Dr. Kumar “the roots of Islamophobia are to be found in a conflict between empires and economic interests, not a clash of civilizations”.