Multiculturalism articles of interest March 2026

2026/03/31 Leave a comment

Articles and opinions related to multiculturalism that I found of interest in March:

  • Racial and Ethnic Disparities
  • Activisim/Advocacy
  • Quebec Bill 21
  • Representation corporate boards and public serice

Disparities

Picard: To address racism in health care, we need to collect data on race

Agree, without data, over reliance on anecdotes:

…It’s important, of course, that data are collected voluntarily and that people’s privacy is respected as it is with all health records. 

The public needs to know, too, that the information will not appear on their health card or on medical charts. Rather, it is used in an aggregated fashion to reveal trends and inequalities between racial or ethnic groups, without identifying individuals. 

The big barrier to collecting and using race-based data is technical: digital health systems still need to adapt. But we know it’s doable, even on a large scale. 

During the pandemic, for example, the Coronavirus Rapid Entry Case and Contact Management System (CORES) included data on race, income and household size. As a result, we learned Black, Indigenous and people of colour in Toronto were over-represented in the tally of COVID-19 cases and deaths. That allowed, among other things, targeted vaccination campaigns. 

The data also allowed people who are too often marginalized and ignored to be heard, an important first step in correcting disparities. 

Race, culture, language and socio-economic status can all have a profound impact on health, individually and collectively. 

Allowing gaps in data collection to persist is bad for our health, and our health system. 

Source: To address racism in health care, we need to collect data on race 

StatsCan: Criminal court outcomes of Black accused persons in Canada, 2016/2017 to 2022/2023

Latest useful StatsCan study highlighting disparities

  • There were 100,450 Black accused persons in adult criminal courts between 2016/2017 and 2022/2023. Black people (6.2%) were overrepresented as accused persons in adult criminal courts over this period, relative to their representation among the adult population of Canada (3.7%).
  • The proportion of Black accused persons in adult criminal courts has generally increased over time, from 5.7% of all accused in 2016/2017 to 7.1% in 2022/2023. 
  • Between 2016/2017 and 2022/2023, the proportion of Black people in adult criminal courts in Nova Scotia and Ontario was more than two times higher than that of Black people in the total adult population of these provinces. Black people were also overrepresented as accused persons in criminal courts in Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta and New Brunswick compared with their representation in the total adult population.
  • More than 4 in 10 (42%) cases involving a Black accused person completed in adult criminal courts between 2016/2017 and 2022/2023 resulted in a guilty decision. This was equal to the proportion of cases involving Black accused persons that were withdrawn, dismissed or discharged over this period (42%).
  • Compared to the rest of the (non-Black) accused population, Black accused persons less often had their case result in a guilty decision and more often had it withdrawn, dismissed or discharged. 
  • Black accused persons most often received a guilty decision for cases where the most serious offence was a Criminal Code traffic offence such as impaired driving (69%) or an administration of justice offence such as breach of probation (49%), and least often for cases where it was a violent offence (33%). 
  • Between 2016/2017 and 2022/2023, just under half of violent crime cases (47%) and property crime cases (46%) involving Black accused persons were withdrawn, dismissed or discharged.
  • Similar proportions of Black and non-Black accused persons were sentenced to custody upon being found guilty in adult criminal courts (29% versus 27%). Probation was the most common sentence handed down to both Black and non-Black accused persons. 
  • It took nearly two months longer for court cases involving Black accused persons to be completed in adult criminal courts between 2016/2017 and 2022/2023, compared to non-Black accused persons (219 versus 165 days).

Source: Criminal court outcomes of Black accused persons in Canada, 2016/2017 to 2022/2023

CMA: Black Canadians more likely not to fill prescriptions because of financial constraints, study finds

Another insightful study:

Black adults in Canada are more likely not to fill prescriptions because of financial constraints than white adults, according to a new study that highlights disparities in prescription medication coverage as a major barrier to equitable health care.

The study was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal on Monday. Its authors concluded that the prevalence of cost-related prescription non-adherence – defined as the inability to fill a prescription or delaying, splitting or skipping doses because of financial pressures – was 75 per cent higher among Black adults than white adults.

Coverage for prescription medications was also lower among Black adults, the study showed. In 2022, for example, 72.5 per cent of Black adults were covered compared with 80 per cent of white adults. 

One of the study’s authors, Oluwabukola Salami, a Canada Research Chair in Black and racialized peoples’ health at the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary, said this study is the first of its kind and broadens the understanding of how Black Canadians experience health inequities.

“We know that Black people are more likely to have cardiovascular disease, to have certain types of cancer and to die from any of these conditions. But we always looked at how access to care is a challenge to Black people,” Dr. Salami said.

“This study presents new findings related to medication specifically.”…

Source: Black Canadians more likely not to fill prescriptions because of financial constraints, study finds

Activism/Advocacy

Amira Elghawaby entend poursuivre son combat contre la laïcité à la québécoise

Suspect may be harder given lack of a government platform and support staff and resources:

Amira Elghawaby, ancienne représentante spéciale du Canada, continue de s’opposer à la loi 21 sur la laïcité malgré l’abolition de son poste.

Bien que son poste ait été supprimé par le gouvernement de Mark Carney, elle se dit en paix et prévoit de rester active dans la scène publique.

Elle exprime des inquiétudes quant à l’efficacité du nouveau comité consultatif sur la lutte contre le racisme et la haine.

Source: Amira Elghawaby entend poursuivre son combat contre la laïcité à la québécoise

Jamie Sarkonak: The crusading judge who helped Liberals build a race-based sentencing regime

Sarkonak appears to be following judges with activist backgrounds as seen in her previous column on Justice Go.

There is a judge on the Ontario Superior Court of Justice whose signature move is letting violent men walk free because of racism. One of the architects of race-based sentencing, his name is Faisal Mirza, and he was appointed to the bench by former prime minister Justin Trudeau in 2022.

Mirza’s flourish of race-based acquittals is not a case of a judge gone rogue: indeed, it’s perfectly on-brand. He was writing about the need for more racial considerations in the Canadian justice system in 2001, before he even became a lawyer. Back then, he argued in the Osgoode Hall Law Journal that mandatory minimum sentences for drug and weapons offences would be racist because of the disproportionate impact they’d have on Black people.

Toronto police, he asserted, were racist because of the arrest statistics they produced: in 1988, Black individuals comprised 51 per cent of drug arrests, 82 per cent of mugging arrests and 55 per cent of purse snatching arrests. This, he said, was evidence of over-targeting. He concluded that more mandatory minimums would exacerbate the effect, because the threat of being convicted on a charge with a guaranteed jail term would disproportionately pressure Black accused persons to make plea deals and forfeit the opportunity to expose racist police at trial.

This became a career pursuit. When the Supreme Court was deciding whether to strike down the mandatory minimum for illegally possessing a loaded firearm in 2014, he argued as an intervener in the case that its disproportionate impact on Black individuals needed to be taken into account. The court ultimately ruled that this mandatory minimum was unconstitutional.

In 2018, Mirza laid the foundation for Ontario’s racial sentencing regime. He was the defence lawyer of Kevin Morris, a Black man who was convicted of various firearms offences. They were lucky to draw the hyper-progressive, destructively lenient Shaun Nakatsuru for a judge. Mirza filed two racial context reports about Morris and Black people as evidence, and the judge emphatically agreed to consider them. He settled on a 15-month sentence to account for the racial factors, even though three years was considered the starting point. On appeal, the Ontario Court of Appeal made racial considerations in sentencing the province-wide rule in 2021….

To his credit, there have been instances where Mirza refrained from applying a racial discount, and from tossing out evidence because of racism, but it doesn’t excuse the other times when he let his biases reign. It’s undeniable that he has a habit of projecting racism in assessing any interaction with the state and undermining public safety with his assumptions. One day, it’s going to end up getting someone hurt — if it hasn’t already.

Source: Jamie Sarkonak: The crusading judge who helped Liberals build a race-based sentencing regime

Dummit: How accommodation hollowed out Canadian nationalism

Not an easy country to govern given differing regional and group interests. Will be interesting to see how the (still) forthcoming revision to the Harper era citizenship study guide provides a cohesive and coherent national perspective:

….Taken as a whole, this legacy of national hesitation makes governing difficult. Is it any wonder that Carney spends so much time abroad signing international agreements? Foreign policy is one of the few areas where a Canadian government can still act as a single whole with relative clarity about the national interest.

But Carney’s real test will come when he finally returns home.

Canada’s genius has always been accommodation. But accommodation, repeated often enough, can gradually hollow out the idea that the country itself even has a single political purpose.

When Carney eventually tries to move forward with projects deemed nationally significant—whether mining developments, high-speed rail, or (God forbid) a new pipeline—he will run directly into Canada’s familiar pattern of internal division.

That’s when we’ll truly find out who is willing to embrace an “Elbows Up” style of nationalism. Until then, we’re left wondering: whose elbows? Defending which nation?

Source: How accommodation hollowed out Canadian nationalism

This woman is suing Canada for its ban on adoption under Muslim law

Inevitable that the ban would be challenged. Of course, this predominant affects Muslim families but perhaps a more appropriate challenge would be with respect to Pakistan’s application of kafala:

A Toronto woman is being denied the right to reunite with her adopted children because Ottawa does not recognize adoptions from Pakistan under Islamic rules, a court has heard.

Jameela Qadeer is the maternal aunt of Salman, Umme and Umm; she and her husband raised them as their own in Pakistan after her sister died of a brain hemorrhage in 2012. The Pakistani court has granted them guardianship of the kids and authorization to travel after their biological father, who was absent in their lives, abdicated his responsibility for their care.

An Ahmadiyya Muslim, a sect of Islam deemed heretical in Pakistan, Qadeer fled to Canada in 2017 and was granted asylum. However, her adopted kids have not been allowed to join her. Since 2013, Ottawa has stopped accepting adoption from Pakistan because it says the Islamic rules known as kafala only allow for guardianship of children, but do not sever biological ties as required by Canadian law.

In a fight to reunite the family, Qadeer and her sister’s children, along with two Muslim organizations, have taken the federal government to court, challenging the refusals of permanent residence to the children, and the constitutionality of Canada’s ban on recognizing adoption from Pakistan. 

They contend that Canada’s immigration policy has disproportionately affected Muslim families and denied them equality rights under the Charter, even when a guardianship arrangement following traditional kafala is permanent and sanctioned by a foreign court. 

“That categorical refusal does not only affect the individual applicants,” Armaan Kassam, lawyer for the National Council of Canadian Muslims told the opening of a three-day Federal Court hearing this week. “It affects Muslim families across Canada who adopt through foreign court-supervised guardianship processes.”

Warda Shazadi Meighen, lawyer for the children, said her clients’ biological father officially abdicated his responsibility in 2013 to Jameela Qadeer. Before leaving for Canada in 2017, Qadeer and her husband were granted judicial guardianship by a Pakistani court under national guardianship laws, giving them exclusive custody. ,,,

Source: This woman is suing Canada for its ban on adoption under Muslim law

Quebec Bill 21

Khan: In Quebec, laïcité has become its own kind of religious orthodoxy

Ironic but accurate:

…In the meantime, there is no legal recourse to challenge laws that are clearly discriminatory. Those primarily affected by these bills are veiled Muslim women – whom Quebec ostensibly wants to liberate, while strengthening gender equality. In its oxymoronic quest to impose freedom, then, the government is excluding those very women from the job market and impeding their financial independence. And it’s so 1950s to hear the high priests of laïcité – François Legault, Bernard Drainville – tell women what they can and cannot wear.

Given the situation, it’s time to tell the world about Quebec’s laïcité mission. Canadian embassies, high commissions and consulates should be clear to prospective immigrants (especially from la Francophonie) that their religious freedoms and expression will be curtailed in la belle province. Here at home, the federal government, along with the governments of Ontario, New Brunswick and Manitoba, should help those adversely affected by Quebec’s laws resettle in francophone communities in the rest of Canada, if they wish to leave. They deserve an opportunity to thrive without compromising their faith.

And finally, something must be done about the notwithstanding clause. Governments show no slowdown in its use, while the wider public seems unaware of its fundamental threat to basic freedoms. Perhaps a jarring public education campaign is in order, using the spectre of Donald Trump. After all, his administration has overseen attacks on domestic human rights, circumvented judicial warrants, tried to suspend legal protections to immigrants and denied equality before the law. Little wonder he wants to absorb Canada: The notwithstanding clause would allow him to do all that legally.

Source: In Quebec, laïcité has become its own kind of religious orthodoxy

Kutty | When parents are shut out of classrooms over what they wear, we have a problem

Absurd and unreasonable:

Two mothers in Quebec were recently told they could no longer volunteer at their children’s elementary school unless they removed their hijabs. For one of them, it meant being shut out of a classroom she had supported for years — not because of anything she did, but because of what she wears.

They are not alone. Across Quebec, people of faith — including Muslim women who wear hijabs, Sikhs who wear turbans, and Jewish Canadians who wear kippahs — are being pushed out of classrooms and public life unless they conceal visible expressions of their identity. In a separate incident, twelve Muslim women reportedly lost their teaching jobs because they refused to remove their hijabs. These are the lived consequences of Quebec’s secularism law, Bill 21, which prohibits many public-sector employees — including teachers, police officers and government lawyers — from wearing visible religious symbols while performing their duties.

The constitutionality of this law is now poised for its most consequential test. Canada’s Supreme Court is now hearing arguments in a landmark case examining whether Bill 21 violates fundamental rights, including freedom of religion and equality under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Quebec has invoked the notwithstanding clause — Section 33 of the Charter — a rarely used constitutional mechanism that allows governments to override certain fundamental rights, including freedom of religion and equality, for renewable five-year periods….

Source: When parents are shut out of classrooms over what they wear, we have a problem

Representation

StatsCam: Representation of women on boards of directors and in officer positions, 2023

Useful study with breakdowns:

Statistics Canada is releasing new data on the gender composition of leadership and strategic decision-making roles within publicly traded corporations, privately held corporations and government business enterprises operating across a variety of industries in Canada.

This data helps inform the objective “More company board seats held by women, and more diversity on company boards” and the indicator “Proportion of board members who are women, by type of board” in the Leadership and democratic participation pillar of the Gender Results Framework.

Additional information and other studies and statistics related to gender and enterprises can be found in the Gender, diversity and inclusion statistics hub, the Business performance and ownership statistics portal and in the Representation of women on boards of directors and in officer positions: Visualization tool.

Women hold just under one-quarter of director positions

In 2023, women occupied just under one-quarter (23.2%) of seats on boards of directors, increasing 0.5 percentage points over the proportion of women recorded in 2022 (22.7%). 

Just over half of boards (50.3%) did not include any women directors in 2023. In addition, 25.8% of boards had one woman director, while boards with two or more women directors accounted for 23.9% of the total. 

Educational services has the highest representation of women directors, followed by the utilities and finance and insurance industries

Educational services had the highest proportion of women directors in 2023, with women holding 35.3% of board seats. This reflects an increase of 4.9 percentage points from 2022. 

The utilities industry recorded the second-highest share in 2023, at 34.1%. Corporations in finance and insurance followed, with women representing 28.2% of board members. 

The agriculture industry had the lowest proportion of women directors, with women occupying 8.8% of board seats….

Source: Representation of women on boards of directors and in officer positions, 2023

Treasury Board not tracking impact of public service job cuts on equity groups

Will be curious to see the respective numbers of hirings, separations and promotions in the forthcoming TBS EE report. Hopefully, TBS will continue to provide the breakdowns by visible minority groups.

Slides from last year’s EE report.

Advocates are raising concerns about how job cuts will affect public servants in equity groups — something the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat says it’s not tracking. 

The federal government has committed to cutting the number of public service jobs by about 40,000 from a 2023-24 peak of 368,000 as it looks to find savings.

Departments and agencies across the public service have started notifying staff of coming job cuts.

Barb Couperus, a spokesperson for the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat — which oversees government operations — said the office does not collect information centrally on the impact of workforce adjustment on employment equity designated groups.

Equity groups include women, Indigenous people, people with disabilities and members of visible minorities.

Couperus said heads of departments are responsible for managing their workforces.

She said departments will continue to pay “close attention” to maintaining representation and meeting their obligations under the Employment Equity Act.

The act requires federally regulated employers, including the government itself, to take steps to eliminate employment barriers and maintain proportional representation in the workplace for members of equity groups.

During layoff periods, Couperus said, departments can prioritize keeping staff from equity groups if there are gaps in representation.

Nicholas Marcus Thompson, president and CEO of the Black Class Action Secretariat, said he is “disturbed” to learn the Treasury Board isn’t tracking the impacts of job cuts.

“What that suggests is that this is not a priority for this government,” he said.

Over the past five years, the government has hired approximately 5,000 Black workers throughout the entire federal public service, said Thompson. It also has increased the number of Black executives from around 99 in 2020 to more than 220, he said.

“What we’re seeing now is that those gains are being lost as a result of workforce adjustment,” said Thompson, adding his organization has started tracking data on workforce adjustment. “Many folks have reached out to us to find out what their rights are.

“Usually with workforce adjustment, the first to go are folks that were the last to come … So far our data is showing that, despite these equity gains, it’s now turning out to be equity losses.”

Thompson said his organization wants to see the government require equity impact assessments before workforce adjustment decisions are made. It also wants the government to be transparent about the process and publish data on which demographics are being affected.

Rabia Khedr, national director of Disability Without Poverty, said people with disabilities working in the public service will be feeling anxious.

“Generally speaking, a lot of times people with disabilities may be at an entry level position, so that makes them vulnerable,” said Khedr.

The most recent employment equity report for the public service says that as of March 2024, 9.7 per cent of federal executives were people with disabilities, up from 4.6 per cent in March 2019.

Khedr also said she’s unhappy about the lack of central tracking of the impacts of job cuts on equity groups.

“That then leaves it to the individual leadership within departments to make those critical decisions,” she said.

“It really depends on the leadership and their commitment to diversity and inclusion … There’s a risk that equity-denied groups might be more vulnerable in terms of who gets cut and who stays.”

Source: Treasury Board not tracking impact of public service job cuts on equity groups

Filed under DEI, discrimination, Interculturalisme, Laïcité, Multiculturalism, Religion

Quebec’s bid to limit public prayer felt in far-flung parts of the province

2026/02/23 2 Comments

Reality check:

…But Mr. Roberge said police are reluctant to act when people use prayer as a form of protest, for fear of being seen as infringing on their Charter rights. “The guidelines are not clear enough in situations involving religious demonstrations,” he told the committee. The minister declined an interview request. 

The scope of the new legislation is wide-ranging. In addition to tackling public prayer, it would extend the province’s workplace ban on religious symbols to anyone working in daycares, colleges, universities and private schools. Quebec’s original secularism law, which is now being challenged at the Supreme Court of Canada, banned religious symbols for some public-sector employees, including elementary and high school teachers, police officers and judges. 

The new bill would also prohibit prayer and other religious practices in public institutions, effectively banning prayer rooms at Quebec colleges and universities. 

Critics say the legislation is a thinly veiled attempt to exploit anti-Muslim sentiment for political gain. In a brief presented to the committee, the National Council of Canadian Muslims said Quebec Muslims “feel less and less that they belong” in the province. 

Bishop Poisson said there’s no reason to treat religious demonstrations any differently from other public events. “We must be careful not to build a society where the laws prohibit everything except what is permitted,” he said. 

“I want to live in a country where everything is permitted except what is prohibited. There’s a big difference.”

Source: Quebec’s bid to limit public prayer felt in far-flung parts of the province

Filed under Multiculturalism, Religion Tagged with , , ,

French: Whatever This Is, It Isn’t Anti-Zionism

2026/02/17 2 Comments

Good commentary:

…I unequivocally support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, but I have also written repeatedly and critically about Israel’s tactics in its war on Gaza, which I believe have prolonged the conflict and created extraordinary and unnecessary human suffering.

Jewish lives aren’t more precious than Palestinian lives, and any form of advocacy for Israel that treats Palestinians as any less deserving of safety and security than Israelis isn’t just un-Christian; it’s anti-Christian. It directly contradicts the teachings of Scripture, which place Jews and Gentiles in a position of equality.

Second, internal Christian debates about whether the modern state of Israel is a fulfillment of biblical prophecy — as interesting as they can be — should be irrelevant to American foreign policy, which should be based both on American interests and American commitments to international justice and human rights.

But historic Christian antisemitism is rooted in a historic Christian argument, and it requires a specifically Christian argument in response.

Put in its most simple form, Christian antisemitism is rooted in two propositions — that Jews bear the guilt for Christ’s death (“Jews killed Jesus”), and that when the majority of Jews rejected Jesus (who was a Jew, as were all his early apostles), that God replaced his covenant with the children of Abraham with a new covenant with Christians. This idea of a new covenant that excludes the Jewish people is called “supersessionism” or “replacement theology.”

Put the two concepts together — “Jews killed Jesus” and “Christians are the chosen people now” — and you’ve got the recipe for more than 2,000 years of brutal, religiously motivated oppression.

Boller is a recent convert to Catholicism, and she — like Candace Owens — wields her newfound faith like a sword. But perhaps they both need to spend a little more time learning and a lot less time talking.

First, let’s put to rest the indefensible idea that “the Jews” killed Christ. As the Second Vatican Council taught, “The Jewish authorities and those who followed their lead pressed for the death of Christ; still, what happened in his passion cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today.”

This isn’t a statement of high theological principle as much as basic common sense. Convicting an entire people, for all time, of the crimes of a few religious leaders is a moral monstrosity that runs counter to every tenet of Christian justice.

Second, Boller’s own church teaches that there is a deep bond between Christians and Jews. Last year, Robert P. George, a noted Catholic political philosopher at Princeton, wrote a powerful essayin Sapir, a Jewish journal of ideas, in which he described the relationship between the Jewish people and the Catholic Church as an “unbreakable covenant.”

As George writes, Pope Benedict XVI explicitly rejected the idea that the Jewish people “ceased to be the bearer of the promises of God.” Pope John Paul II said that the Catholic Church has “a relationship” with Judaism “which we do not have with any other religion.” He also said that Judaism is “intrinsic” and not “extrinsic” to Christianity, and that Jews were Christians’ “elder brothers” in the faith.

Indeed, paragraph 121 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “The Old Testament is an indispensable part of Sacred Scripture. Its books are divinely inspired and retain a permanent value, for the Old Covenant has never been revoked.”

I don’t believe for a moment that the Catholic view is the only expression of Christian orthodoxy. I know quite a few Protestant and Catholic supersessionists who are not antisemitic, but I highlight the words of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI because they starkly demonstrate the incompatibility of antisemitism with Christian orthodoxy.

But one doesn’t have to agree with Catholic teaching (or its Protestant analogues) to be fairly called a Zionist — a Christian Zionist, even — because one believes in the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state.

The reason is rooted in Scripture’s commitment to equal dignity for all people, regardless of ethnicity, class or sex. As an extension of that commitment, no group of people should be subjected to abuse or persecution — much less genocide.

In this formulation, a so-called Christian Zionist would also likely be a Christian Kurdist (not a phrase you hear every day) or have a Christian commitment to Palestinian statehood. Kurds and Palestinians have also been historically oppressed, denied a home and deprived of the right to defend themselves.

In those circumstances, statehood isn’t a matter of fulfilling prophecies; it’s about safety and security. It’s about self-determination and the preservation of basic human rights. And if you think that can be done without supporting statehood, then I’d challenge you to consider the long and terrible historical record.

A consistent Christian Zionist would oppose both the heinous massacre of Jews on Oct. 7, 2023, and the aggressive, violent expansion of settlements in the West Bank. He would stand resolutely against Iranian efforts to exterminate the Jewish state and against any Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

Embracing the idea that the modern state of Israel is a direct fulfillment of biblical prophecies and therefore must be supported by the United States for theological reasons can lead us to dangerous places — to a belief, in essence, in permanent Israeli righteousness, no matter the nation’s conduct and no matter the character of its government.

But the opposite idea — that Christians have replaced the Jews in the eyes of God, and there is no longer any special purpose for Jews in God’s plan — has its own profound dangers. It creates a sense of righteousness in religious persecution, and it has caused untold suffering throughout human history.

The better Christian view rejects both dangerous extremes, recognizes the incalculable dignity and worth of every human being, and is Zionist in the sense that it believes that one of history’s most persecuted groups deserves a national home.

And since Christians have persecuted Jews so viciously in the past (and some still do today), we have a special responsibility to make amends, to repair the damage that the church has done. That begins by turning to the new Christian antisemites and shouting “No!” Ancient hatreds born from ancient heresies have no place in the church today.

Source: Whatever This Is, It Isn’t Anti-Zionism

Filed under Antisemitism, Multiculturalism, Religion Tagged with ,

“La communauté musulmane de Québec déplore l’intransigeance du gouvernement”

2026/01/30 Leave a comment

A noter:

“Neuf ans se sont écoulés depuis la tuerie de la grande mosquée de Québec, mais des séquelles se font encore sentir, ravivées par les lois sur la laïcité adoptées par le gouvernement caquiste, qui « encouragent la xénophobie et le racisme », selon les leaders de la communauté musulmane de la capitale.

Le 29 janvier 2017, au moment où Alexandre Bissonnette faisait irruption au milieu de la prière pour ouvrir le feu sur les fidèles, une fillette se tenait entre le tireur et ses victimes. « C’est ma fille. Elle avait huit ans », a raconté mercredi Nizar Ghali, blessé par deux balles à l’abdomen lors de la tragédie.

Le père de famille, ce soir-là, a frôlé la mort sous les yeux de son enfant. Dans les jours qui ont suivi l’attaque, pendant que la ville se recueillait, consternée, et pleurait les six défunts, Nizar Ghali, lui, luttait pour sa vie à l’hôpital, plongé dans le coma.

Aujourd’hui tiré d’affaire — « le corps va bien, l’esprit va quand même assez bien aussi », précisait-il mercredi au Devoir à la veille des commémorations —, il travaille à combattre les « amalgames » qui font le lit, à son avis, du racisme et de la xénophobie.

“Et il en a long à dire sur la vision de la laïcité promue par le gouvernement caquiste. La loi 21 sur l’interdiction des signes religieux et son expansion dans les garderies subventionnées par l’État prévue par le projet de loi 9 passent mal. « Les femmes voilées se sentent lésées par ces lois-là parce qu’elles estiment qu’[elles] sont faites spécifiquement pour elles », explique le docteur diplômé de l’Université Laval. « Pour nous, ça envoie le message que l’État ne veut pas que la femme musulmane prenne de l’expansion dans la société. »

Sa fille, aujourd’hui âgée de 17 ans, a décidé de porter le hidjab. Le père, lui, craint que ce choix ne constitue un obstacle à son épanouissement.

« Ce n’est pas le passé qui nous inquiète, c’est l’avenir, confie Nizar Ghali. Elle arrive à l’âge où tout le monde commence à entrevoir un petit peu son avenir. Il est encore trop tôt pour savoir quel genre de job elle va chercher ou quel domaine d’études elle va poursuivre, mais si elle rencontre des embûches, c’est sûr que ça va être de plus en plus difficile pour elle. Si, au contraire, elle trouve une société qui l’accueille comme elle est, je présume que ça va la soulager après ce qu’elle a vécu. »”…

Source: “La communauté musulmane de Québec déplore l’intransigeance du gouvernement”

“Nine years have passed since the killing of the Great Mosque in Quebec City, but sequelae are still being felt, revived by the laws on secularism adopted by the Caquist government, which “encourage xenophobia and racism,” according to the leaders of the capital’s Muslim community.

On January 29, 2017, when Alexandre Bissonnette broke into the middle of prayer to open fire on the faithful, a girl stood between the shooter and his victims. “She’s my daughter. She was eight years old, “said Nizar Ghali on Wednesday, wounded by two bullets in the abdomen during the tragedy.

The father of the family, that evening, come close to death before the eyes of his child. In the days following the attack, while the city was gathering, dismayed, and mourning the six deceased, Nizar Ghali was fighting for his life in the hospital, immersed in a coma.

Today out of trouble – “the body is fine, the mind is still quite well too,” he said Wednesday at Le Devoir on the eve of the commemorations – he is working to fight the “amalgams” that make the bed, in his opinion, of racism and xenophobia.

“And he has a lot to say about the vision of secularism promoted by the Caquist government. Bill 21 on the prohibition of religious signs and its expansion into state-subsidized daycare centers provided for by Bill 9 is doing badly. “Women with veils feel aged by these laws because they believe that [they] are made specifically for them,” explains the doctor graduated from Université Laval. “For us, it sends the message that the State does not want Muslim women to expand in society. ”

His daughter, now 17 years old, decided to wear the hijab. The father, for his part, fears that this choice will be an obstacle to his development. “It’s not the past that worries us, it’s the future,” says Nizar Ghali. She reaches the age where everyone begins to see a little bit of her future. It is still too early to know what kind of job she will look for or what field of study she will pursue, but if she encounters pitfalls, it is certain that it will be more and more difficult for her. If, on the contrary, she finds a society that welcomes her as she is, I assume that it will relieve her after what she has experienced. “…

Filed under Islamophobia, Multiculturalism, Religion Tagged with ,

Robert Brym: Avi Lewis and Independent Jewish Voices are gaslighting Canadians about antisemitism

2026/01/06 Leave a comment

Needed dose of reality:

…Some white people use the N-word, despite the fact that doing so is deeply offensive to Black people. Black people are entitled to call such individuals racists. By the same token, anti-Zionists may think it’s legitimate to call for the destruction of the Jewish state in Israel. However, most Jews are entitled to call such people antisemites because, for them, support for the existence of the Jewish state is part of what it means to be a Jew.

Finally, based on the results of a 2024 survey, Lewis and Balsam assert that 49 per cent of Canada’s Jews are not Zionists. This claim is misleading. The poll found that 51 per cent of Canadian Jews consider themselves to be Zionists, 15 per cent express ambivalence about referring to themselves as Zionists, seven per cent say they “don’t know” and 27 per cent say they are not Zionists. However, the survey also found that 94 per cent of Canadian Jews support the existence of Israel as a Jewish state.

According to standard dictionaries and general encyclopedias, Zionists are people who support the existence of a Jewish state in the Jews’ ancestral homeland. Such supporters remain Zionists even if, like me, they favour the creation of a demilitarized Palestinian state, oppose the extent of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, express outrage at Jewish settler attacks on Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and support equal rights for all citizens of Israel, including Arabs. 

What, then, does it mean when 94 per cent of Canadian Jews are Zionists by the dictionary definition yet 49 per cent of them decline to call themselves Zionists? 

I decided to find out by conducting a follow-up survey in 2025 asking the participants in the 2024 poll to clarify the matter. The follow-up revealed that many participants are reluctant to call themselves Zionists because the term has developed a strongly negative connotation, under the weight of frequent and often extreme attacks against everything connected to Israel in the media, schools, universities, workplaces and in the streets. 

Nearly all Canadian Jews are Zionists by the dictionary definition, but nearly half of them don’t want to be called Zionists because the term has become a pejorative. According to the poll, a mere one per cent of Canadian Jews say they are anti-Zionists like Lewis and Balsam.

It seems clear that Lewis and Balsam’s interpretations are guided by ideological animus. Antisemitism is a major problem in Canada. Rhetoric and actions denying the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state are antisemitic according to the great majority of Canadian Jews. With the exception of a tiny minority, including Lewis and Balsam, Canadian Jews remain steadfast in their support for a Jewish state in the Jews’ ancestral homeland.

Source: Robert Brym: Avi Lewis and Independent Jewish Voices are gaslighting Canadians about antisemitism

Filed under Antisemitism, Multiculturalism, Religion Tagged with , , ,

Le Devoir Éditorial | Une réforme au succès incertain [religious hate speech exception] and related commentary

2025/12/12 Leave a comment

We will see how this works in practice and whether it is enforced:

Heurter des convictions, des croyances ou des visions du monde, c’est le propre de la liberté d’expression. C’est par la réprobation sociale, et non le risque de poursuite et d’emprisonnement, qu’une société démocratique respectueuse de l’équilibre entre les droits fondamentaux vient à bout des discours fiévreux et orageux.

Le Bloc québécois a souvent demandé aux libéraux d’en faire plus pour que la foi ne soit plus utilisée comme une excuse pour tenir des propos haineux. La formation s’appuyait notamment sur l’aversion suscitée par les propos d’un prédicateur incendiaire, Adil Charkaoui, qui implorait le Tout-Puissant de se charger des « sionistes agresseurs », au lendemain de l’invasion de la bande de Gaza par l’armée israélienne. « Assure-toi de n’en laisser aucun », disait-il. Il en appelait aussi à « recenser et exterminer » tous les « ennemis du peuple de Gaza ». Le Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales (DPCP) n’y avait pas trouvé matière à déposer des accusations.

Les débordements et les excès de langage qui ont accompagné les manifestations pro-palestiennes, en particulier sur les campus universitaires, ont grandement influencé la teneur du débat entourant le projet de loi visant à lutter contre la haine. L’affichage de signes ou de symboles associés à des groupes inscrits sur la liste des entités terroristes sera désormais passible de poursuites, au même titre que le blocage des lieux de culte. La montée en force de l’antisémitisme a de quoi inquiéter, et elle doit être dénoncée avec vigueur.

La fin de l’exception religieuse dans le Code criminel marquera sûrement une nouvelle ère, et suivra une nouvelle jurisprudence de la Cour suprême, ultime arbitre de ces questions. Qui sait ce que le DPCP ferait des propos de Charkaoui avec ces nouvelles balises à sa disposition ?

Il n’en demeure pas moins qu’il y a des risques à baisser le seuil en vertu duquel un discours peut être qualifié comme haineux. C’est une porte ouverte à disposer de la question selon l’humeur politique du moment. La loi procurera de nouveaux outils d’intervention aux forces policières, mais seront-elles outillées pour s’en servir ? Départager la véritable haine de la croyance religieuse abêtie, dans ce nouveau contexte, exigera une analyse minutieuse. L’épreuve de la réalité viendra assez vite, car la véritable mesure de succès d’une loi (et son utilité) réside dans la capacité des pouvoirs publics de la faire respecter, sans engendrer de situations arbitraires.

Source: Éditorial | Une réforme au succès incertain

To hit convictions, beliefs or visions of the world is the characteristic of freedom of expression. It is through social reprobation, and not the risk of prosecution and imprisonment, that a democratic society that respects the balance between fundamental rights overcomes feverish and stormy speeches.

The Bloc Québécois has often asked liberals to do more so that faith is no longer used as an excuse for making hate speech. The formation was based in particular on the aversion aroused by the words of an incendiary preacher, Adil Charkaoui, who implored the Almighty to take charge of the “Aggressive Sionists”, the day after the invasion of the Gaza Strip by the Israeli army. ” Make sure you don’t leave any,” he said. He also called for the “identification and extermination” of all the “enemies of the people of Gaza”. The Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP) had not found reason to file charges.

The overflows and excesses of language that accompanied the pro-Palestian demonstrations, especially on university campuses, greatly influenced the content of the debate surrounding the bill to combat hatred. The display of signs or symbols associated with groups on the list of terrorist entities will now be subject to prosecution, as will the blocking of places of worship. The rise of anti-Semitism is worrying, and it must be vigorously denounced.

The end of the religious exception in the Criminal Code will surely mark a new era, and will follow a new jurisprudence of the Supreme Court, the ultimate arbiter of these issues. Who knows what the DPCP would do about Charkaoui’s remarks with these new beacons at its disposal?

Nevertheless, there are risks to lower the threshold by virtue of which a speech can be described as hateful. It is an open door to dispose of the question according to the political mood of the moment. The law will provide new intervention tools for police forces, but will they be equipped to use them? Parting the true hatred of the dazed religious belief, in this new context, will require a careful analysis. The test of reality will come quite quickly, because the real measure of success of a law (and its usefulness) lies in the ability of the public authorities to enforce it, without generating arbitrary situations.

Lisée, Les amis de la haine:

Ailleurs dans le monde, des officiers religieux sont accusés, et parfois condamnés, pour ce genre de propos. En Belgique, au Danemark, en France, en Allemagne, en Suisse, pasteurs et imams savent que la tenue de propos extrêmes, même dans leurs temples, même en citant leurs dieux, peut avoir des conséquences, non seulement pour les cibles de leur haine, mais aussi pour leur propre liberté. Partout, ils peuvent plaider la liberté d’expression et la liberté de religion. Partout, les juges doivent mettre ces libertés dans la balance. Pas au Canada. Au Canada, l’exception sert de bouclier impénétrable pour la haine religieuse.

Elle n’est pas fréquente. En fait, rarissime. Élevé dans le catholicisme, je n’ai jamais entendu un curé citer les passages de la Bible susmentionnés. Les textes sacrés offrent aux célébrants le choix des thèmes, et la plupart choisissent d’en tirer des appels à la fraternité, à la compassion et à l’entraide. C’est pourquoi nous avons des religions apaisées. Mais aux religieux qui ne le sont pas, je ne vois pas pourquoi on donnerait le bon Dieu sans confession.

Elsewhere in the world, religious officers are accused, and sometimes convicted, for this kind of statement. In Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Switzerland, pastors and imams know that holding extreme remarks, even in their temples, even by quoting their gods, can have consequences, not only for the targets of their hatred, but also for their own freedom. Everywhere, they can plead for freedom of expression and freedom of religion. Everywhere, judges must put these freedoms in the balance. Not in Canada. In Canada, the exception serves as an impenetrable shield for religious hatred.

It is not frequent. In fact, very rare. Raised in Catholicism, I have never heard a parish priest quote the aforementioned passages of the Bible. The sacred texts offer the celebrants the choice of themes, and most choose to draw calls for brotherhood, compassion and mutual help. That’s why we have peaceful religions. But to the religious who are not, I do not see why we would give the good God without confession.

John Ivison: How I changed my mind about the Liberals ending religious exemptions for hate speech

Baber’s impassioned performance at the justice committee made the case that stripping the religious defence was more likely to criminalize faith than combat hate.

He pointed out that the religious defence has never been used to acquit a defendant accused of public incitement of hatred. “When we start going down the road of criminalizing more and more speech, we kill free speech,” he said.

The Bloc amendment was aimed at separating religion from the state. But Baber said “everyday Canadians” should not have to fear quoting religious scripture. “That is definitely not something the state should engage in.”

He said the problem the Bloc is trying to solve in the Criminal Code does not exist.

Baber pointed out that the religious defence does not apply to the Section 318 of the Criminal Code on advocating genocide. Nor does it apply to the public incitement of hatred.

Proponents of removing the religious defence have pointed to controversial imam Adil Charkaoui who at a pro-Palestinian rally in Quebec in 2023 made a call “to kill the enemies of the people of Gaza” and “take care of Zionist aggressors.” However, the decision not to charge Charkaoui turned on the basic threshold of incitement to hatred, not on the religious defence.

“I’m so tired that there is no nuance in this place,” Baber told the committee.

“For goodness sakes, look at how much money we’re spending and there’s no professional thought. We’ve got to inject a little bit more professionalism into politics.

“You don’t need a fancy lawyer, you need someone to read the section. The problem you (the Bloc) are trying to solve does not exist. You cannot defend yourself with a religious exemption after inciting hatred or inciting violence. I implore you to please not do this.”

But, of course, the Liberals and the Bloc teamed up, and they did.

My takeaway from the gruelling hours of testimony at the committee was that the government made a Faustian bargain to gain passage of their bill.

They won, but it was not a clean win.

The removal of the religious exemption may well prove to be an assault on freedom of expression if misused, and its impact will have to be watched closely.

The Liberals will claim victory but if they rack up more wins like this, they will be ruined.

Filed under Multiculturalism, Religion Tagged with , , , ,

StatsCan: The diverse volunteering contributions of racialized Canadians, 2023

2025/12/08 Leave a comment

Interesting findings:

In 2023, 70% of racialized Canadians gave their time, expertise and skills to a range of benevolent causes in the previous 12 months.

Most of this help was arranged informally, mirroring overall patterns in volunteering. In 2023, 64% of racialized Canadians reported helping people directly or improving the community on their own. Meanwhile, 29% of racialized Canadians reported volunteering through a charitable organization or group.

In recognition of International Volunteer Day, Statistics Canada is releasing a new study examining the volunteering contributions of racialized Canadians, entitled ”The diverse volunteering contributions of racialized Canadians.” This study uses data from the 2023 Survey on Giving, Volunteering and Participating, which was held from September 15, 2023, to March 30, 2024. This marks the first time this survey has collected data on racialized groups, allowing for an in-depth look at volunteering among these populations in Canada.

Particular attention is paid to differences in volunteering patterns between racialized Canadian-born and racialized immigrant populations given that three-quarters of racialized individuals were born outside Canada.

Among racialized individuals, those born in Canada are most likely to volunteer

Racialized populations in Canada are diverse in terms of their ethnic and cultural origins and their immigrant status. Some people are newcomers, others long-established residents, and many were born in Canada. These differences are reflected in volunteering patterns.

Overall, in 2023, volunteering was more common among racialized individuals born in Canada (79%) compared with racialized immigrants (67%), both recent (66%) and established (67%) immigrants. The volunteering rate for Canadian-born racialized individuals (79%) also surpassed the volunteering rates for non-racialized, non-Indigenous populations born in Canada (74%) and those born outside of Canada (70%).

This higher rate of volunteering among Canadian-born racialized individuals was seen across all racialized groups. For example, among South Asians—who had one of the highest volunteering rates—82% of those born in Canada volunteered in the 12 months prior to the survey, compared with 69% of South Asian immigrants.

Religious and social services are the most common sectors receiving help from racialized volunteers

When racialized Canadians volunteered on behalf of an organization or group in the 12 months prior to the 2023 survey, the religious and social service sectors emerged as the most common areas of involvement. Overall, 25% of racialized volunteers gave their time to religious organizations. This proportion is similar to that of racialized volunteers who provided support to social services (24%), which can include organizations providing services for families, emergency and relief, and income support.

Among racialized volunteers, the level of volunteering was greatest in the religious sector, with the total number of volunteering hours in this sector surpassing that of all other sectors. This contrasts with the patterns observed for non-racialized, non-Indigenous volunteers, for whom the total hours dedicated to the religious sector did not significantly differ from that of other sectors.

The greater involvement of racialized volunteers in the religious sector was driven by racialized immigrant volunteers (28%), who were more likely than racialized Canadian-born volunteers (19%) to dedicate time to this sector. Meanwhile, Canadian-born racialized volunteers were more likely than racialized immigrant volunteers to dedicate time to the education and research sector (23% compared with 11%) and the sports and recreation sector (17% compared with 10%).

Contributing to the community is a leading reason for volunteering 

When asked about the reasons for volunteering on behalf of an organization or group in the 12 months preceding the 2023 survey, contributing to the community (87%) and wanting to use one’s skills and experience (74%) were the top reasons given by racialized volunteers. Networking and meeting new people were other common motivations, reported by 52% of racialized volunteers, with there being no difference by place of birth (in or outside of Canada). One difference, however, was the higher likelihood of volunteering to improve job opportunities among Canadian-born racialized individuals (48%) than among racialized immigrants (28%).

Chart 1 
Top five reasons for formal volunteering among racialized volunteers, 2023

Chart 1: Top five reasons for formal volunteering among racialized volunteers, 2023

As for barriers to volunteering, Canadian-born racialized individuals (particularly Chinese and Black populations) were slightly more likely (95%) to report facing at least one challenge, compared with racialized immigrants (92%). There were no other differences across other population groups.

Not having enough time was the leading barrier to volunteering across all groups, though this barrier was more often reported by racialized individuals born in Canada (82%) than by racialized immigrants (74%). Knowledge, access and information barriers were more commonly reported by racialized immigrants (42%) than by racialized individuals born in Canada (36%).

Source: Study: The diverse volunteering contributions of racialized Canadians, 2023

Filed under Multiculturalism, Religion Tagged with , , ,

Conservatives blast removal of religious exemption in hate-speech laws as ‘assault’ on freedom of speech

2025/12/03 Leave a comment

Arguably not needed given existing laws but recent occupations, obstructions, demonstrations supporting Palestinians have veered into explicit antisemitism and harassment of Jewish communities. The exemption should not be akin to a “get out of jail” card:

Opposition Conservatives say a deal between the governing Liberals and the Bloc Québécois to remove a religious exemption from Canada’s hate-speech laws, in exchange for passing a bill targeting hate and terror symbols, is an “assault” on freedom of speech and religion….

The Conservatives on Monday slammed the removal of that exemption as an attack on freedom of religion and of free speech, with the party quickly putting together a petition, which was circulated by its Members of Parliament.

“Liberal-Bloc amendments to C-9 will criminalize sections of the Bible, Quran, Torah, and other sacred texts,” Poilievre wrote on social media. “Conservatives will oppose this latest Liberal assault on freedom of expression and religion.”

Conservative Calgary MP Michelle Rempel Garner called on all other parties to oppose the amendment.

“I think it’s an unabashed attack on religious freedom,” Rempel Garner said.

Ontario MP Marilyn Glaudu, who serves as the Conservative critic for civil liberties, in a video on X, said the proposed change amounted to an “attack on people of faith.”

Fortin, the Bloc MP, agreed that the change will curb freedom of expression. However, he argued there must be limits on speech that propagates hate.

“I think this freedom of expression needs to be limited. You’re free to do what you want until you start harming others,” he said.

The bill itself seeks to create new offences around the intimidation and obstruction of sites used by an identifiable group, such as a religious or cultural centre, as well as make it a crime to promote hate by displaying hate symbols like a swastika, or those linked to listed terrorist entities.

The proposed amendments come amid widespread criticism about the Liberals’ bill, with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) and the Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Council calling for it to be withdrawn, along with dozens of advocacy groups. Critics warn that the new offences create the risk of police cracking down on lawful protests, and could lead to a targeting of Muslim and other racialized groups.

When it comes to the proposed removal of religious defences from hate speech laws, Anaïs Bussières McNicoll, director of the CCLA’s fundamental freedoms program, said it raises concerns.

She pointed to how that defence is only available to criminal law dealing specifically with the wilful promotion of hatred and no other offence, even speech-related ones, such as public incitement to hatred, or uttering threats.

“The speech that needs to be criminalized in Canada is already criminalized, and there is no religious exemption applying to that,” she said.

She said the association has for years held concerns around the provision, targeting “the wilful promotion of hatred,” given how broadly it can be applied.

“The concept of hatred is subjective,” she told National Post in an interview on Monday, “so we are always worried about risks of abuse and censorship of unpopular or offensive opinions through this provision. So we fear that removing this religious exemption might gradually erode the protections and increase the scope of this provision.”

Steven Zhou, spokesman for the National Council of Canadian Muslims, said in a statement on Monday that it was “gravely concerned and surprised” about the reported deal to remove the exemption for religious beliefs, saying that doing so “opens the door to a deeply troubling censorship regime.”

Khaled Al-Qazzaz, executive director of the Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Council, said in a statement that it rejects the removal of the religious exemptions, saying it considers doing so “an attack on all places of worship and religious schools.”

Derek Ross, executive director and counsel for the Christian Legal Fellowship, a national association for lawyers and law students who identify as Christian, said removing the exemption for religious opinions could lead individuals to self-censor and create an overall “chilling” effect.

The law must balance competing interests, he said, but pointed to how it must protect those who are fearful of becoming “vilified or detested” because they express viewpoints held by a minority.

Khaled Al-Qazzaz, executive director of the Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Council, said in a statement that it rejects the removal of the religious exemptions, saying it considers doing so “an attack on all places of worship and religious schools.”

Derek Ross, executive director and counsel for the Christian Legal Fellowship, a national association for lawyers and law students who identify as Christian, said removing the exemption for religious opinions could lead individuals to self-censor and create an overall “chilling” effect.

The law must balance competing interests, he said, but pointed to how it must protect those who are fearful of becoming “vilified or detested” because they express viewpoints held by a minority.

“It is a significant change to the law, and one that was not previously the subject of a great deal of discussion or debate by Parliament,” Ross said on Monday. “We hope that further consideration is given before such a move is made.”

As part of the deal with the Bloc, the Liberals are also expected to back off plans to eliminate the need for a provincial attorney general’s sign-off to pursue a hate-propaganda prosecution. The move will likely be supported by both the Bloc and Conservatives.

Fortin, Bussières McNicoll and Al-Qazzaz all said they agreed with maintaining the additional check and balance before charges are laid, which could have a cooling effect on freedom of expression.

Quebec’s Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette, who has called on the federal government for years to remove the religious exemption defence, celebrated the deal between Liberals and Bloc on social media.

Source: Conservatives blast removal of religious exemption in hate-speech laws as ‘assault’ on freedom of speech

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The Rise and Fall of the Gaza Converts

2025/11/26 Leave a comment

Interesting:

…In a 2025 talk at Georgetown’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, researcher Dan Nilsson DeHanas discussed his research on Gen Z Muslims at university campuses in the U.K. and Australia. DeHanas said that the internet has created “a sense of perpetual solidarity” between Muslims and converts who are coming to Islam through a postmodern personal bricolage, concern for traditionally progressive causes like Palestine and climate change (the effects of which are felt keenly in the Middle East and North Africa, where many Muslims live), and the pursuit of “main character energy,” which he defines as “This sense that you’re actually engaging in the plot of something that’s real and exciting, like a feature film. You can’t just sit in the back. You have to go and drive the bus, or be right in the middle of everything.”

That impulse—to live faith as performance, to experience belief as a kind of public participation—also helps explain how quickly the online fervor curdled. The “revert wave” crested at the exact moment when Gaza dominated every conversation. But attention is its own ecosystem, and as Gaza faded from the algorithmic spotlight, so did the reverts’ audience.

Meanwhile, the antisemitic and misogynistic rhetoric of some online Muslim influencers, including reverts, became harder and harder to ignore. Kari, a woman who converted to Islam because of Gaza and posts about her reversion under the handle @izdzdaan, regularly intersperses videos of herself in hijab calling for decolonization in the name of missing indigenous two-spirit women with reposts of Tucker Carlson’s anti-Israel videos. Even some of the young Muslim women who spoke to DeHanas’ research team said that the misogyny is leaping off the screen and into real life, where young men they don’t know feel free to weigh in on how they dress and act. It “seems more possible today to say more radical things than you would have said before,” DeHanas said…

Source: The Rise and Fall of the Gaza Converts

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Islamic preacher barred from entering Canada for speaking tour, months after being banned from U.K.

2025/10/28 Leave a comment

Seems like the right call. Question about a religious exemption for hate speech as proposed by the Bloc much more thorny as one looks at the potential impact across many religions and sects:

…Mr. Blanchet said his party plans to table an amendment to the government’s Combatting Hate bill to stop religion from being used as a defence for hate speech. 

The proposed change to the Criminal Code would abolish a defence allowing a person who incites hatred to escape prosecution if their words are based on religious beliefs or a religious text.

Canadian Identity Minister Steven Guilbeault replied that the Liberals shared the Bloc’s aim to combat hatred and would welcome amendments to the bill.

“We will hear from experts, subject-matter experts, and are willing to work with the Bloc Québécois, with all parties in this House to ensure that hate speech is not in Canada,” he replied. 

Jeremy Bellefeuille, spokesperson for Justice Minister Sean Fraser, said in a text message that the minister “is open to hearing expert testimony in committee.”…

Source: Islamic preacher barred from entering Canada for speaking tour, months after being banned from U.K.

Filed under Hate crimes, Multiculturalism, Religion Tagged with , , ,

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