Opposing extremism is not Islamophobic, despite what recent report suggests

Despite what some may like to believe, terrorism and extremism pose real threats to Canada and are not figments of my imagination

By Raheel Raza,  Special to National Post    11.1.23

A recently released report by Prof. Jasmin Zine, titled “The Canadian Islamophobia Industry: Mapping Islamophobia’s Ecosystem in the Great White North,” purports to provide insights into “how Islamophobia manifests and is purveyed” in this country. In reality, it paints a skewed picture of anti-Muslim bigotry in Canada, and tars wide swaths of people, including Muslims like myself, as racists.

In her report, Zine details what she calls the “Islamophobia industry,” which is enabled by “self-proclaimed Muslim dissidents, reformers and ex-Muslims,” who “act as instigators and propagators of anti-Islamic narratives as well as validating and authorizing the circulation of these tropes.”

Yet the report is inaccurate in some parts, and relies heavily on slander and name-calling. It’s clear from reading the report that Zine doesn’t understand the distinction between Islam and Islamism, so she has grasped at straws, using quotes and opinions taken out of context. Zine repeatedly states that I have failed to speak out against attacks on Muslims in Canada. This is incorrect. I have always held that bigotry, racism, xenophobia and violence must be strongly condemned. However, past attacks against Muslim-Canadians, as despicable as they are, don’t constitute a trend towards institutionalized “Islamophobia” in Canada, as suggested by the report.

Zine purports to have “comprehensively outlined the machinations of Canada’s Islamophobia industry.” But unlike the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, which is clear and concise, the term “Islamophobia” is not clearly defined. Zine herself admits that she is going by a “broad definition” of the term. The word “Islamophobia” was popularized after 9/11 by the Muslim Brotherhood and its legacy groups to quell debate and discussion about Islam. Which is exactly what Zine’s report does by treating Muslim critiques of Islam as heresy. Zine singles me out specifically as a “Muslim dissident,” mentioning my name no less than 30 times in the report and devoting an entire subsection to my views. In one instance, she cites an open letter I wrote after separate incidents involving radicalized Muslims that saw two Canadian Forces members run down in Quebec and the shooting of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo in Ottawa, in which I recommended mosques be closed down for three months to sort things out. This last point may sound extreme, but as I made clear at the time, it was to ensure religious freedom, “Not by targeting the faith, but by targeting those who are using their faith to promote subversive agendas of violence and terrorism” at places of worship.

At that time, some mosques were found to be spreading radical messages and had links to known terrorists. An imam at a Toronto mosque, for example, was known to be spreading 9/11 conspiracy theories, refused to denounce terrorist attacks and said that the Toronto 18 were good people. As a Muslim-Canadian, I believed measures needed to be taken to stop the spread of hateful messages and prevent further radicalization. Yet to Zine, this was taken as proof that I’m somehow anti-Muslim.

Similar strategies have been implanted elsewhere. After a series of terrorist attacks, including the beheading of a teacher, in 2020, France’s interior minister announced a crackdown on 76 mosques suspected of encouraging extremism. He said the mosques would be inspected and any found to be “breeding grounds of terrorism” would be shut down. Despite this, many Muslims around the world continue to seek a better life in France.

In another instance, Zine insinuates that because I was opposed to a mosque being built at Ground Zero after 9/11, I must be an Islamophobe. I went to New York and met the families of the first responders after 9/11. Does Zine have any idea of the tragedy and suffering caused by that terrorist attack?

Despite the fact that Jews and Blacks are the victims of far more hate crimes in this country than Muslims, according to Statistics Canada data, Zine believes there is a vast conspiracy dedicated to propagating biases against Muslims and that, “This phenomenon is unique to Islamophobia. Other forms of racism and oppression do not have co-ordinated networks and industries behind their propagation.” Seriously? What, then, is the BDS movement, Israel Apartheid Week and Al-Quds Day? These antisemitic movements are conveniently ignored by Zine, but that is in keeping with her anti-Israel bias.

Indeed, I am not the only person to be labelled by Zine as a “Muslim dissident,” but they all appear to have one thing in common — their support for Israel. As B’nai Brith Canada has pointed out, Zine has a history of blaming Zionism for Islamophobia and supporting the BDS movement against Israel. In Zine’s view, moderate Muslims like myself and mainstream Jewish organizations like B’nai Brith “share political and ideological mandates that involve the demonization and vilification of Islam and Muslims and often work in concert to foment controversies and spread Islamophobic narratives and conspiracy theories.” In reality, I have merely been critical of Muslims who behave badly, critiquing those who perpetrate violence, make unreasonable demands for accommodation and show disloyalty toward Canada. They make a mockery of my faith, so I am morally and ethically compelled to speak out. Despite what some may like to believe, terrorism and extremism pose real threats to Canada and are not figments of my imagination. As a person searching for freedoms, I’ve made Canada my home and fully embrace its liberal values. Zine’s report makes a mockery of such values. She should know that ideas (and religions are sets of ideas) don’t have rights — human beings do.