A woman lays flowers not far from the scene of the mosque shooting at the Islamic Cultural Center of Quebec, Quebec, Canada (illustration). Canada is deeply committed to the fight against troubling Islamophobia
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, OTTAWA – Canada has appointed its first special representative to combat Islamophobia. This stance was taken following several recent attacks on Muslims in the country.
This position was filled by Amira Elghawaby, a woman known as an activist and who works as a journalist.
He will act as an advisor, expert and representative to support and improve the government’s efforts Canada to combat Islamophobia, systemic racism, racial discrimination and religious intolerance.
Elghawaby has been an active human rights activist over the years. He is also the head of communications for the Canadian Race Relations Foundation and a columnist for the Toronto Star newspaper.
Previously, he worked for over a decade at public broadcaster CBC. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hailed Elghawaby’s appointment as an important step in his country’s fight against Islamophobia and hatred in all its forms.
“Diversity is truly one of Canada’s greatest strengths, but for many Muslims, Islamophobia is all too familiar,” he added. The New Arabs, Sunday (29/1/2023).
In recent years, a series of deadly attacks have targeted Canada’s Muslim community. In June 2021, four members of a Muslim family were killed when a man ran them over with his truck in London, Ontario.
Four years earlier, six Muslims died and five others were injured in an attack on a Quebec mosque. In a series of tweets on Thursday, Elghawaby listed the names of those who died in the recent attack saying, “We must not forget.”
A new work configuration was proposed at a national Islamophobia summit that the federal government is convening in June 2021 in response to the attacks.
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