Islam
Muslim community in Canada
Hamilton-based lawyer Hussein Hamdani
Mississauga Central Library
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Monday 08 Jun 2015 - 11:24 Makkah mean time-21-8-1436
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Ontario, (IINA) - Muslims across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) of Canada are feeling the effects of anti-Muslim sentiment in their day-to-day lives, spurred on by the rhetoric and policies of the Conservative government, but are too scared to speak out against it, The Star daily reported.
“They want Canadians to be afraid of Muslims. They can benefit if Canadians fear Muslims,” said Hamilton-based lawyer Hussein Hamdani, who has worked with the government since 2005 on anti-terror strategies as part of the Cross-Cultural Roundtable on National Security.
Hamadi was addressing attendants at the youth-led event titled “I’m Muslim — What is it to you? Addressing today’s Islamophobia,” that was held at the Mississauga Central Library.
“There is no science behind this legislation,” said panelist Khadijah Kanji, programming coordinator at the Noor Cultural Centre, citing how 17 women in Canada have been victims of honour-based killings, compared with hundreds of aboriginal women who have gone missing or been killed by their intimate partners about whom Ottawa has refused calls for an inquiry.
For Hamilton residents, the event was a chance to seek solutions for the soaring anti-Muslim sentiment across the country.
“I wanted to hear about solutions for how we can work to combat anti-Muslim feelings and hate in our communities,” Hamilton resident Dzenana Zildzic, who attended the event, told The Star.
On his part, Muhammad Hashim, an event organizer with Dawanet, a community organization, highlighted the concerns of the Canadian Muslim community, OnIslam reported.
The whole point of this event is to send a message back to the community: “Let’s stand up against the rhetoric of Islamophobia,” he added.
Earlier this year, an Islamophobia monitoring group has warned that the biased media coverage fosters divisions and racism in the French-speaking province of Quebec, especially following Paris attacks that victimized Muslims cross Europe.
The Collectif Québécois Contre l’Islamophobie, has documented more than 123 Islamophobic attacks since Charlie Hebdo attacks earlier this month.
SM/IINA
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