Canadian Muslims would probably agree that Canada is one of the world's best countries for its Muslims and other citizens. But Muslims have reason to be concerned – recent polls suggest that their fellow Canadians of other faiths view them unfavorably. In the past Canada discriminated against Aboriginals, Jews, Asians and most non-whites and non-Christians. Even in the Hitler era, Canada turned back a boat of Jewish refugees though they faced persecution and death in Nazi Germany. But the trend now has been to view diversity as an asset that enriches all Canadians. Recent desecration of mosques (and some synagogues) and isolated physical attacks on Muslims in Quebec and Ontario are danger signals. The overwhelming majority of Canadian Muslims, by all evidence, love Canada and serve it with dedication. Still, 68 percent of Quebecers harbored an unfavorable view of Islam in 2009 and today it is 69 percent, Angus Reid reported. In the rest of Canada, the change is depressing. In 2009, 46 percent of Canadians viewed Islam unfavorably. Now the number is 54 percent. The only other religion seen unfavorably was Sikhism at 39 percent. Those viewing Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism positively far outnumbered those with a negative image of these faiths. Discussions with Canadians and perusal of the media suggest several factors that produced this shift. One is the perception that Muslim women are oppressed. This feeling stems from highly publicized horrifying “honor killings” by some Muslims in Canada and by the niqab (covering the woman's face), burqa (draping the entire body) and the hijab (which hides just the hair). The burqa and niqab are rare sights in Canada but the hijab is becoming popular even with Canadian-born Muslim girls. Canadians I know have no problem with it, but some feel it's a symbol of oppression and an unwelcome public display of one's faith. Another catalyst seems to be several terrorism attempts by young Muslims in Canada. These have taken place as far west as in British Columbia and also in Ontario. These involved a few youth who oppose Canada's military involvement in Afghanistan. While polls suggest that most Canadians disapprove of Canada's policy on Afghanistan, these Muslim youth turned to violence and targeted innocent people. Muslim organizations denounced the attempted terror and imams said it was against Islamic teachings. But many Canadians viewed the acts as representing the dark side of Muslims. The third factor is the Islamophobia among some of the media, politicians and academics. They are not interested in a rational dialogue. Their aim is to vilify Islam and portray Muslims as evil and a threat to Canada and to Western civilization. They propagate lies incessantly –that Islam orders Muslims to kill infidels (non-Muslims), that Muslims seek to impose Shariah on all Canadians, that Muslims immigrated to Canada to take control of the West, that Muslim organizations condone the attempted terror and that Muslim religious schools instill hatred of non-Muslims in gullible students. Since 9/11 Islamophobes have worked overtime to blame Islam and all Muslims. They attribute the actions of a few Muslims attacks - which were universally condemned by Muslim scholars and leaders - not to their grievances over the killing, maiming and displacement of Muslims by the US and US-supported and financed attacks, but rather to Muslims' jealousy and hatred of the West. Canadians being an open-minded and friendly people, Canadian Islamophobes are having only limited success. So anti-Muslim speakers from the US, such as Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer, leaders of the Stop Islamization of America (SIOA), come to Canada to spread their venom. They were denied entry by the United Kingdom. Another factor seems to be the tragic events in some Muslim countries – Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria, Egypt, Somalia and Libya. The Syrian conflict has killed more than 100,000 people and made many times that number homeless. In Iraq and Afghanistan bombs kill innocent people in mosques, bazaars and other public places. This happens also in Pakistan and Libya. In Pakistan, Egypt, Nigeria and Indonesia, minorities such as Shias or Christians have been killed. These criminal acts portray Muslims as violent and evil. What's forgotten is that it is Muslims who are the main victims of terrorism, which is often instigated by outside forces. It is carried out, however, by gullible Muslims who violate the Islamic teachings of peace, mercy, justice, kindness and respect for all living beings. Some Canadian Muslims try to present the true face of Islam. But it's an uphill task. Muslims of Canada are divided, weak and aimless. Their emphasis has been on building mosques. They have no national organization representing them. A National Council of Canadian Muslims, formerly CAIR-CANADA, is trying to do advocacy work. But it is only in recent years that the main Muslim organizations started to explore the possibility of working together, building a stronger community and reaching out to mainstream Canadians. They have a long way to go. They share some responsibility for the plight of Muslims in Canada.
– Mohammed Azhar Ali Khan is a retired Canadian journalist, civil servant and refugee judge
