My heart is broken again. Is yours? If you haven’t read the article “White Supremacy is as Old as Canada” in the Toronto Star, please do. It centres the hate/Islamophobia-motivated murder of the Muslim family (Yumna Salman, Madiha Salman, Salman Afzaal and Talat Afzaal) last week in London …
islamophobia
The Niqab and Bill 62
It’s an interesting thing that Quebec has done with Bill 62: they haven’t used the word Muslim or niqab in their Bill, but they have still managed to target Muslim women. Sneaky. And, in my opinion, sinister. There has been a statement to attempt to defend the universalism of the Bill. …
How Can We Say Such Things To Each Other?
Last week in the Toronto Star there was an article about claims of homophobia, Islamophobia, and racism at The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). You can read more about the emails employees allegedly received from their superiors in the article The first thing that comes to mind, …
[Continue reading] How Can We Say Such Things To Each Other?
Islamophobia at a School Board meeting
This is what Islamophobia looks like This is what Islamophobia looks like: A policy that has been in place for 20 years, allowing Muslim students the opportunity to pray at schools on Fridays, being violently opposed. This is what Islamophobia looks like: Tearing pages out of the Qu’ran. This …
Prejudice is Taught Early
It's not new concepts that prejudice (pre-judging) is learned (sometimes taught) and that unconscious bias is insidious. Here is a stellar example of both (and the impact on my 3 year old) that made me particularly furious. Recently I was watching an episode of My Little Pony with my daughter. It's …
Maybe Canada is a melting pot afterall?
For as long as I can remember, we have used the word "mosaic" to describe the way people can keep their cultural beliefs and traditions when they come to Canada to live. This is in contrast to our neighbours to the south, who have been referred to as the "melting pot" - a place where you leave your …