Through words and actions over the past
seven years the Trudeau government has been reluctant to even take symbolic
actions to address the concerns of Canadian Muslims around hate targeting the
community, even though 11 Canadian Muslims have been murdered in acts of hate
since the 2017 shooting.
By Fareed Khan
On January
29th Muslim communities across Canada marked the seventh anniversary of the Quebec
City Mosque shooting where six men were murdered by a white supremacist in an act
of hate, and the National Day of Action Against Islamophobia. However, despite the significance of this day
and what it symbolizes – standing against anti-Muslim hate and remembering victims
of a deadly attack – Canadian Muslims are also having to contend with the deeply
troubling situation of politicians and governments in this country enabling hate
against Muslims. This is the result of feelings
of betrayal in the community about the unwillingness of the Canadian government
to live up to promises made to take aggressive action to fight Islamophobia, and
due to the government’s responses and actions since October relating to the genocide
being committed by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza.
Since the
first anniversary of this tragic event in 2018 this date has become a very poignant
and sombre occasion for Canadian Muslims, and more so in light of events in recent
months. Since the 2017 attack Canadian leaders
have seemingly supported the Muslim community, engaged with community leaders, participated
in community forums and events, and used the correct language about the need to
push back against Islamophobia. However,
as the last seven years have shown this may all have been political posturing to
secure the support of an important voting bloc.
Because government responses to Muslims calling for aggressive action to
fight Islamophobia and for the federal government to defend the fundamental human
rights of Palestinians as they face genocide has revealed a different face, and
it is a face that reflects deep-seated anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia.
The words
and actions of Justin Trudeau’s government, many of his MPs, of Opposition leader
Pierre Poilievre and members of his caucus, of some premiers, and a number of political
party leaders of varying stripes across the country since October, have contributed
to racist anti-Palestinian narratives and Islamophobia. Their failure to condemn the genocide in Gaza
and refusal to take action in international forums in defence of Palestinian rights
has demonstrated that in truth they care little about the views of Canadian Muslims
on the critical human rights issue of our time involving a people who are the most
persecuted in the world today.
By defending
Israel, by running political interference for them at the United Nations, by vilifying
those who have condemned Israel’s crimes, Canadian politicians of all political
stripes have enabled hate and Islamophobia against Palestinians – a racialized people
who are predominantly Muslim. They have defended Israel’s assault on Gaza as an
act of “self defence” while top UN officials and the leaders of other nations have
condemned the targeting of Palestinian civilians. They have been critical of those protesting in support
of Palestinian rights, calling them terrorist sympathizers and “Hamas loves”, and
they have conflated defending the human rights of Palestinians with antisemitism.
In light of such political rhetoric, it should be no surprise that it has energized
those in our society who harbour hate against Muslims and Palestinians.
Israel’s war
on the people of Gaza has revealed a deep divide in Canadian society between elites
and the majority of Canadians. On one side
are ordinary people who see Palestinians as a subjugated and oppressed people who
have been denied human rights, justice and freedom for more than 70 years. On the other are very privileged political, corporate
and media elites allied with Zionist agents of Israel promoting the myth that Israel
is a nation surrounded by enemies bent on their destruction, and that Palestinians
are a fifth column who want to exterminate Jews. These false, dangerous narratives and outright
lies are used to justify Israel’s actions against Palestinians, even if those actions
result in the death of tens of thousands of innocent people.
Since the
start of the war in Gaza hundreds of thousands of Canadians have been protesting
in support of Palestinians every week in cities and towns across the country, condemning
Israeli crimes, and condemning Canadian complicity in those crimes. They have been demanding that the Trudeau government
call for a ceasefire, stop selling weapons to Israel, and that it sanction those
Israeli leaders who have openly called for the genocide of Palestinians. But given the government’s lack of action in response
to the demands of Canadians it seems that political leaders don’t care about what
people across the country want, and are also demonstrating a degree of inhumanity
and indifference towards the suffering of a subjugated and persecuted people that
hasn’t been seen since before World War 2.
According
to the Geneva-based group Euromed Human Rights Monitor, as of January
25th more than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel in Gaza, with 13,022
of them being children and 7,160 of them being women. In addition, the vast majority of the 64,000 Palestinians
who have been injured have nowhere to go to be treated since almost every hospital
in Gaza has been destroyed and trauma care is practically non-existent. The group also puts the number of displaced Palestinians
at more than two million and estimates that the number of homes completely or partially
destroyed at more than 270,000.
The unwillingness
of the Trudeau government to condemn Israel’s crimes against Palestinians and stand
up for their fundamental human rights has given a green light to Islamophobes and
racists in Canada to indulge in their hate, racism and bigotry. According to police forces across the country
there has been a significant rise in hate against Muslims and Palestinians since
the start of the war in Gaza, and other than political statements and platitudes
politicians at all levels seem to have done little to counter this rising Islamophobic
hate and related racism.
Through words
and actions over the past seven years the Trudeau government has been reluctant to even take symbolic actions
to address the concerns of Canadian Muslims around hate targeting the community,
even though 11 Canadian Muslims have been murdered in acts of hate since the 2017
shooting (the only faith community to experience deadly acts of hate). While the government has declared a National Day
of Action Against Islamophobia and appointed a Special Representative on Combatting
Islamophobia, these actions came about only after years of intense lobbying by the
Muslim community, and calls for more aggressive action to fight growing hate against
Muslims has been largely disregarded. Given
the amount of time that the government took to take these actions, and given their
one-sided statements supporting Israel since the start of the Gaza War, in which
the vast majority of victims are Muslim, the National Council of Canadian Muslims
has taken the unprecedented step of stating that Canadian
Muslims no longer have a partner in the federal government.
A recent study released by the Senate Human Rights Committee
stated that Islamophobia remains a persistent problem in Canada and concrete action
is required to reverse a growing tide of hate against Muslims.
Canada’s political class played a role in spreading
this hate going back to the 9/11 attacks, and it is doing so again with how it is
dealing with the demands of Canadian Muslims and Palestinian Canadians that it take
a principled human rights stand against Israel
as it commits horrific atrocities in Gaza. In addition, for two decades police reported hate
crimes against Muslims as reported by Statistics Canada have increased with consistency,
with numbers increasing some years by well over 200 per cent. Given the significance of the January 29th anniversary
it is deeply distressing for Muslims to see the government and politicians that
are supposed to represent them and protect them instead take a stand on the preeminent
human rights issue of our time – one that primarily impacts Muslims and denies the
fundamental rights of a racialized community – which enables hate and racism against
them.
It should
also be noted that Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism are not just phenomena
that happen on Canadian streets. They also
exist in the political class, within the news media ecosystem, and in the corporate class. We have seen this since October in attacks and
condemnations by political and corporate elites against Palestinians and Muslims
who have called for justice for the Palestinian people. We have also seen it in prejudiced and biased news media coverage, in the sidelining
of pro-Palestinian voices around the war in Gaza by media, and with people who have
supported Palestinian rights or criticized Israel being fired or black listed.
Canadians
must realize that we are living in a dangerous moment in history both at home and
overseas. Freedom of expression is under
assault and we are experiencing a Neo-McCarthyism in
Canada, as many involved in pro-Palestinian protests are harassed, attacked, trolled
online, and in some cases fined or arrested by police for exercising their Charter
rights. The democratic rights of those demanding
justice for a people living through a genocide are being threatened, and those in
biggest danger are Palestinians and Muslims who are the targets of hate and racism
because of their public activism and their demands for justice for the people of
occupied Palestine.
If we are
to get through this without shredding the fabric of our diverse and pluralistic
society, if we want to preserve our democratic freedoms, it is up to all of us to
demand that our politicians support fundamental justice and human rights of all
equally, that it protect the freedoms of those who are standing in defence of Palestinian
rights, and that Canadian governments and politicians stop using Muslims and Palestinians
as props in support of a political agenda that undermines fundamental justice and
the rights of a people being subjected to genocide at the hands of a racist, fascist,
apartheid state.
Fareed Khan is a human rights activist and founder of Canadians United Against Hate.
