Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s special representative responsible for combating Islamophobia, has been the victim of Islamophobic acts since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
In interview at Duty, the first she has offered in French since the summer, she reveals that she was recently the target of aggressive behavior in an airport and that her office received death threats. “Because I am visible with my hijab, from time to time, I meet people who can be a little aggressive with me,” she confides, specifying however that “most Canadians are not like that” .
Following these incidents, measures were taken to “prioritize the personal safety of Mr.me Elghawaby and in order to manage and minimize risks,” his office said.
The federal envoy to the fight against Islamophobia emphasizes that she is not the only one to have been targeted since the outbreak of the conflict in the Middle East. “I have been informed that women wearing the hijab like me have been spat on. There is a woman who was [asperger d’une substance] in his eyes. […] We have a lot of examples,” she relates.
I have been informed that women wearing the hijab like me have been spat on. There is a woman who was [asperger d’une substance] in his eyes. […] We have many examples.
A little less than a month ago, a report from the Senate Human Rights Committee noted that Islamophobia was spreading online and in the media, and that this situation was contributing to the increase in the number of hate crimes against documented Muslims in the country. Violent Islamophobic acts have reached a “worrying and unprecedented level in Canada” in recent years, we read in the document.
A criticized silence
When she learned of Hamas’ surprise offensive against Israel on the morning of October 7, Ms.me Elghawaby was “shocked” by these “painful” events, she says. But the immediate silence she maintained in public was denounced by many.
It took ten days before she published a statement, a statement that did not explicitly mention the Hamas attacks. “Muslim communities tell me that we cannot let the Israeli-Palestinian conflict reopen such a painful chapter. The legacy of this dark period is revived today,” she then argued, referring to the “deep trauma” experienced in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States by Muslim and Arab communities.
“Everyone noticed that when she broke her silence, after 10 days, she did not say a word about the Hamas attacks, not a word about the massacre of civilians, the hundreds of kidnappings or the rapes . We were hoping for a conviction, we will not even have been entitled to a mention,” noted Bloc MP Martin Champoux in the House of Commons on October 20.
Everyone noticed that when she broke her silence, after 10 days, she did not say a word about the Hamas attacks, not a word about the massacre of civilians, the hundreds of kidnappings or the rapes.
On November 7, its leader, Yves-François Blanchet, also deplored the silence of Mme Elghawaby, but about the potentially criminal comments of Montreal imam Adil Charkaoui. “As for using government tools, there is a person who has been appointed to bridge the gap between the different communities. Where is Mme Elghawaby currently? Do we need her? » he asked the government.
Asked about the silence she kept during the first days of the bloody conflict between Israel and Hamas, the special representative instead said she was present on the ground, within Muslim communities, to “take the time” to understand the extent of the situation. “It was really important to take the time to understand how this attack [qui se déroule à l’étranger] […] will impact our communities in Canada,” she replied.
“My role is to consult communities and express their concerns and concerns to the federal government,” she explains.
The shadow of September 11, 2001
The hateful acts recorded in Canada in recent weeks remind Mme Elghawaby the Islamophobia that proliferated in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. “But now, it’s not just hatred. It’s also a lot of people who feel like they can’t express their opinion,” she points out.
According to her, many Muslims and Arabs are afraid to publicly express their support for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip for fear of facing repercussions at work and school. “We are not only seeing an increase in Islamophobia, but also a [préoccupation quant à] our rights and rights and freedoms, which are at risk,” she says.
During a meeting with Justin Trudeau last month, she stressed to the head of government that the Palestinian, Arab and Muslim communities were urging Ottawa to request an immediate ceasefire and to play a peacemaking role in the Middle East. East. “It is important, in my role as a representative, to share the concerns of my community with the government and the Prime Minister,” she said.
However, the Trudeau government has still not called for a ceasefire in Gaza, preferring the establishment of “humanitarian pauses” in the territory.
Christmas holiday, racism?
Special Representative Elghawaby, whose past statements on racism in Quebec caused an outcry at the start of the year, did not comment on the idea that making the Christian holiday of Christmas a public holiday would represent a ” systemic religious discrimination” since she had not yet had the chance to consult the document at the heart of the controversy.
In his Discussion paper on religious intolerance, published in mid-October, the Canadian Human Rights Commission maintains that “discrimination against religious minorities in Canada is rooted in the history of colonialism in Canada.” “This history manifests itself today in systemic religious discrimination. An obvious example is public holidays [liés au christianisme] “, we can read there.
Is wishing “Merry Christmas” racist? His answer is clear: “No, not at all. It’s nice to be in a pluralist society. We have several religions and we want to understand everyone and their holidays. » She mentions in support a column that she wrote in the pages of the Toronto Star in 2018, titled “Is it OK to say “Merry Christmas”? Yes”, where she affirmed that saying “happy holidays” to avoid any religious reference was not “a panacea” for inclusion.
Thursday afternoon, the Bloc Québécois tabled a motion in the Commons condemning the position of the Canadian Human Rights Commission. It was adopted unanimously by elected officials, like the one tabled the day before in the National Assembly of Quebec.
As for his priorities for the coming months, Mme Elghawaby mentions the seventh commemoration of the attack against the great mosque of Quebec, on January 29, and says he is pursuing “other dialogues” with Muslim communities in order to better advise the Canadian government.