Muslims call for action to end Islamophobia and racism ahead of national summit

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LONDON, ONT. – Amendments to the Criminal Code regarding hate crimes to addressing systemic Islamophobia in government and institutions – The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) issued 61 policy recommendations for all levels of government in the struggle to end Islamophobia.

It is here that tens of thousands of community members gathered in collective anguish, grief and alarm after violent Islamophobia claimed the lives of four members of the Afzaal family, said Nusaiba Al-Azem, second vice-president of the London Muslim Mosque.

She was referring to the community rally outside the mosque following the truck attack that killed four members of the Afzaal family and sent a nine-year-old boy to hospital with serious injuries.

Al-Azem was attending a press conference with the CNMC on Monday to issue recommendations ahead of a national summit on Islamophobia scheduled for Thursday.

As a nation, we are at a historic and important crossroads, said Nawaz Tahir of the Muslim Mosque in London. If we want a country that truly values ​​fairness, inclusiveness, diversity and belonging, we must act immediately.

Among the recommendations is a call for the federal government to create units dedicated to the prosecution of hate crimes.

There is also a call to the provinces to integrate anti-Islamophobia in education.

And the recommendations call on municipalities to adopt street harassment bylaws with the power to issue tickets.

The reality is that Canada has suffered more Islamophobia-motivated mass murders in the past five years than any other G7 country, ”said Mustafa Farooq, CEO of NCCM. It cannot continue.

It was on the evening of June 6 that Nathaniel Veltman, 22, who grew up in Strathroy but resides in London, allegedly carried out the attack on the Afzaal family. At the time, the police called it a hate crime.

Since then, Farooq said, there have been incidents every day across Canada in which Muslims have been the victims of other types of alleged hate-related actions.

We had stab wounds. We have had people who have been pulled knives. We had people beaten up. And that’s everyday – we’ve had a lot of vandalism. Every day there is a new example of something terrible happening.

Acting London Mayor Josh Morgan has said the city is determined to tackle racism and Islamophobia.

He said that in the weeks following the attack, which occurred in his neighborhood in London’s Hyde Park neighborhood, the council worked closely with the local Muslim community to implement changes.

But I would also say that there is also an individual responsibility. Governments will do their part, but every day as individuals we must spread love and peace and speak out against racism and Islamophobia whenever we see it.

The NCCM said it would release a document 60 days after the national summit asking governments to indicate a timeline for meeting the goals.

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