(Ottawa) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau believes that Amira Elghawaby is the right person to lead the fight against Islamophobia in the country. He continued to defend on Tuesday the nomination of the journalist and human rights activist who once wrote that the “majority of Quebecers” seemed “influenced by anti-Muslim sentiment.”
“I support 100% Amira Elghabawy,” Trudeau said as he entered Tuesday’s weekly cabinet meeting.
“She has demonstrated throughout her years of work a sensitivity, openness and rigor that we need now,” he added. I understand that dealing with Islamophobia is going to require important and sometimes difficult conversations, but we need someone who is knowledgeable, who is deeply grounded and I know that is the right person. »
PHOTO JACQUES BOISSINOT, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Amira Elghawaby
In Quebec, this nomination does not pass. The Minister responsible for Secularism, Jean-François Roberge, on Monday asked for the resignation of Mr.me Elghabawy because she “only tried to justify his hateful comments” instead of retracting them and apologizing.
In a column published in July 2019 in the daily ottawa citizenAmira Elghawaby wrote that “the majority of Quebecers seem to be influenced not by the rule of law, but by anti-Muslim sentiment”.
The article, which was co-authored by the president of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network and former director of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Bernie Farber, denounced the State Secularism Act (Law 21). This law, adopted under gag order by the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) during its first mandate, prohibits the wearing of religious symbols by state employees in positions of authority, including teachers. It is being challenged in court.
In an interview with The Presslast week, Mr.me Elghawaby had claimed that his column had been misunderstood. “I want to be very clear. I do not believe that the vast majority of Quebecers are Islamophobic,” she said.
The federal representative against Islamophobia then explained that she had relied in her column on a Léger poll which stated that 88% of Quebeckers who supported Bill 21 had a negative perception of Islam.
Following the publication of the article by The Press, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had asked him to clarify his remarks. She then gave the same explanations on Twitter. Mr. Trudeau later said he was satisfied.
The Canadian Human Rights Commission tweeted that Amira Elghawaby was nominated. “This is an important step in the fight against Islamophobia in Canada,” she said.
More details to come.