We, Quebecers, Canadians of all origins, would like to express our opposition not only to the appointment of Amira Elghawaby, but also to the very position of representative in the fight against Islamophobia.
After showing so many prejudices against Quebecers, Ms. Elghawaby simply does not have the moral authority to hold such a position. If it is a question of building bridges and pursuing a constructive dialogue, it is still necessary to be able to inspire confidence. However, his belated excuses and under high political pressure seem more constrained than spontaneous.
Moreover, the fight against hate speech and hate crimes, particularly against Muslims, is too important an issue to run the risk of aggravating the situation by establishing a position whose very wording is very questionable.
Indeed, if the post for the fight against anti-Semitism only targets racism, Islamophobia is, for its part, a more militant term, hackneyed, with vague outlines, which confuses in its use the respect of the Muslim person with absolute respect for the precepts of Islam. This is the concept that the most fundamentalist Islamist regimes and activists around the world are trying to get across to make any “offense” to the Muslim religion look like a crime.
This is what earned the writer Salman Rushdie the fatwa issued by the Iranian regime which orders all Muslims, wherever they are, to kill them, and which was recently implemented. This is what also earned the designers of Charlie Hebdo to have been murdered. Ms. Elghawaby herself signed a column in 2020 in which she equated the cartoons published by Charlie Hebdo. Does Canada want to promote a woman and a position that confuses legitimate freedom of expression with racist remarks in this way?
The wording of the position states that it will be about combating religious intolerance. In order to be more effective and consistent in a rule of law, we suggest instead to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to reform the Criminal Code whose article 319, relating to public incitement to hatred, introduces impunity if such remarks hateful are based on a religious opinion or text.
Furthermore, we would like to denounce the connections made between the Act respecting the secularism of the Quebec state and hatred of Muslims. This law does not target Muslims, and many Muslims support it. Whether or not one agrees with the requirements of Bill 21, the issue of religious symbols among state officials and in schools is an important issue in Quebec and elsewhere, including in countries with a majority Muslim, where debates on secularism continue. Recall that the European Court of Human Rights has invariably validated laws similar to Law 21.
Finally, this letter brings together a large number of signatories of Muslim traditions or confessions in Canada who refuse to be associated with a “Muslim community”, represented moreover by people who adhere to a fundamentalist vision of Islam. Such an association will only accentuate stereotypes and fuel prejudice against Muslims, and harm those who live their citizenship in harmony within our liberal democracy. Moreover, we fear that this post will encourage censorship or self-censorship of any criticism of religious fundamentalism, the first victims of which are Muslims themselves.
For all these reasons, we see no benefit in this appointment or in the position itself. On the contrary, it risks aggravating tensions and generating suspicion and anger towards Muslims. We therefore request that this position be abolished.
On video | Amira Elghawaby apologizes to Quebecers
*Also signed this letter:
Mandana Javan, citizen committed to immigrants of Muslim origin
Ensaf Haidar, activist for secularism and human rights
Fatima Aboubakr, entrepreneur
Tarek Fatah, author and journalist
Zabi Enayat-Zada, co-author of “Afghan and Muslim, Quebec conquered me” and speaker
Nabila Ben Youssef, actress
Leila Lesbet, AQNAL, Council for the Status of Women from 2013 to 2018
Julie Latour, lawyer
Christiane Pelchat, women’s rights lawyer
Leila Bensalem, activist for secularism
Daniel Turp, Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Law, University of Montreal
Micheline Labelle, professor emeritus of sociology at UQAM
Normand Baillargeon, philosopher
Siham Kortas, actress and singer
Farid Salem, president of Solidarité Québec Algérie
Ali Kaidi, writer and teacher
Geneviève Desmeules, President of For the Rights of Women in Quebec
Guillaume Rousseau, lawyer
Murielle Chatelier, President of the Association of Quebecers United Against Racialism
The full list of signatories is here.