Opinion: Combating Islamophobia is all of our business

CTV National News: Call for concrete action The National Council of Canadian Muslims called for concrete action from the federal government on Islamophobia. Kevin Gallagher reports.

MONTREAL — The following was a document submitted to the Canadian National Summit to Combat Islamophobia by Imam Hassan Guillet, member of the Table interreligieuse de concertation in Quebec.

On June 6, 2021, a walk in a park in London, Ont. ended in a bloodbath, like on Jan. 29, 2017 when prayer in a mosque in Quebec also ended tragically.

In both cases, the killers did not know their victims. They chose them at random for the simple reason that they are Muslims.

To deny the existence of Islamophobia in these two and many other cases, even less bloody, would be like putting your head in the sand.

On Feb. 3, 2017, during my tribute to the victims of the massacre at the Grand Mosque of Quebec, I launched a cry from the heart so that after Jan. 29, 2017 should be different from before that day.

I have also called on our leaders and our entire society to take the necessary measures to ensure that these victims are the last victims of hatred and hate propaganda.

Unfortunately, there was one more murder in Toronto and four others in London. To these murders must be added the violent attacks on racialized women wearing hijabs, the hate rallies in front of mosques, and the targeting of Canadians of Muslim faith and Muslim community organizations by government agencies across Canada.

There was, following each of these attacks, a lot of speeches of sympathy and solidarity.

On March 23, 2017, the House of Commons adopted Motion-103 which condemned Islamophobia and “all forms of racism and systemic religious discrimination.” It also asked that a committee undertake a study on how the government could eliminate this problem and collect data on hate crimes.

On Jan. 28, 2021, the federal government announced its intention to make Jan. 29 the National Day of Commemoration of the Quebec Mosque Attack and of Action Against Islamophobia, in honour of the victims and in solidarity with the survivors of this tragedy.

These are steps in the right direction.

Unfortunately, we see the condemnation and the commemoration but we do not see the action to protect society from Islamophobia.

It's time to act.

The victims of Quebec, Toronto, and London were killed because they were Muslims.

Islamophobia threatens not only Muslims but society as a whole.

As the slogan "Black Lives Matter" was repeated after the murder of George Floyd and the slogan "Every Child Matters" after the discovery of the remains of the Indigenous children, it is time to declare the slogan: "Muslim Lives Matter."

The victims of the Quebec City and London killings were academics and professionals who contributed very positively to the society they chose and which welcomed them.

After the families of the victims, the biggest loser was not their countries of origin but rather this host society they served with dedication and loyalty.

The fight against Islamophobia is the responsibility of the three levels of government, the media, academic institutions, private sector institutions as well as the responsibility of each one of us.

Here are some recommendations that can help protect society from the dangers of Islamophobia: