By Canadian Press

Muslim council issues recommendations ahead of national Islamophobia summit this week

Jul 19, 2021 | 12:44 PM

The National Council of Canadian Muslims has released a lengthy list of policy recommendations for elected officials ahead of a national summit on Islamophobia this week.

The organization is holding events today in cities that have experienced crimes targeting Muslims in recent years, including Quebec City, the Greater Toronto Area, Edmonton and London, Ont., where last month four members of a family were killed while out for a walk.

Mustafa Farooq, the chief executive officer of the NCCM, told reporters in southwestern Ontario today the recommendations target every level of government and were compiled after talking with members of the community from across the country.

“Over the last four years, we have lost 11 members of the Canadian Muslim community in unspeakable acts of Islamophobic and white supremacist violence. This sorrow weighs heavily on the Canadian Muslim community, alongside so many Canadians of all backgrounds. And this sorrow is what grounds every single one of the recommendations we are making at this summit,” says Farooq. “But as we make these recommendations with the hope of a better and safer future for Muslims in Canada, we know that the true measure of success at this summit will be how swiftly our elected officials act on our calls to action.”

More than half of the recommendations are directed toward the federal government and include the creation of a strategy to fight Islamophobia, both outside and within government, as well as providing resources toward that strategy.

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For provinces, the recommendations include teaching about Islamophobia in schools, an accountability system for police hate crimes units and the prohibition of white supremacist rallies.

Farooq says that more Muslims have been killed in targeted hate attacks in Canada than any other G7 country in the past five years.

The summit Thursday of community and political leaders, academics and activists is one of two this week aimed at fighting hate crimes. A similar meeting on anti-Semitism is scheduled to take place Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 19, 2021.

The Canadian Press