Canada’s Muslim community calls for action as conference on Islamophobia begins

Event comes more than a month after anti-Muslim attack left four dead in London, Ontario

Visitors attend a vigil for the victims of the deadly attack on five members of the Canadian Muslim community in London, Ontario. AFP

Leaders from Canada’s Muslim and Jewish communities are gathering in Ottawa for a two-day conference on Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims has published 61 recommendations for all levels of Canadian government to help end Islamophobia and racism.

Among the council's requests are to appoint a special envoy on Islamophobia, to challenge Bill 21 — a Quebec law that bars public servants from wearing religious symbols — and to establish a federal strategy to end Islamophobia by the end of the year.

In June, a man rammed his pickup truck into a Muslim family in London, Ontario, killing four and severely injuring a child.

The attack came four years after a man walked into a mosque in Quebec City and killed six worshippers.

More Muslims have been killed in targeted hate attacks in Canada than in any other G7 country in the past five years due to Islamophobia, the council stated in their pre-conference report.

The event will bring together religious leaders, academics, activists and politicians.

“Our government knows that we need to keep having these conversations to accelerate our work to combat systemic racism in Canada,” said Bardish Chagger, Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Youth, in a statement released this month.

“As we work to build a safer and consciously more inclusive society, we will continue to listen to the lived experiences of communities affected by racism and hate.”

Wednesday’s portion of the conference will focus on combating anti-Semitism. On Thursday, the focus will shift towards curbing Islamophobia.

Four people were killed and one was injured in what police in London, Ontario, Canada, say was a hate crime against Muslims. Nafisa Azima and her daughter, Seena Safdari, visit a memorial at the place where a family of five was struck by a hit-and-run motorist. AP Photo

Abood, 18, left, and his sister Zeina Abdulhadi, 15, visit a memorial to the family of five hit by a driver, in London, Ontario, Canada. AP Photo

Floral tributes become a makeshift memorial on the street in London, Ontario, Canada, where a pick-up struck five members of a Muslim family in what police say was a hate crime. Four people were killed in the attack. Reuters

Zubair Ahmad and his wife put up a poster at the scene where pick-up jumped the kerb and ran over a Muslim family in London, Ontario, Canada. Four people were killed in the attack. Reuters

Flowers are laid at the scene where police in London, Ontario, Canada, say a man driving a pick-up jumped the kerb and ran over a Muslim family. Four people were killed. Reuters

Clara Meagher, left, and Kelyalynn Detibeiro put up a sign at the scene in London, Ontario, Canada, where four of five members of a Muslim family were killed by what police say was a hit-and-run attacker. Reuters

Candles are arranged in a heart shape at a makeshift memorial to the members of Muslim family killed by a hit-and-run driver in London, Ontario, Canada. Reuters

People gather at a makeshift memorial in London, Ontario, Canada, for four members of a Muslim family killed in what police say was a hit-and-run attack. Reuters

Torpenky Khan looks at a street sign flattened when four of five members of a Muslim family were killed by a hit-and-run driver in London, Ontario, Canada. AP Photo

Visitors gather at a makeshift memorial to members of a Muslim family who were killed in a hit-and-run attack in London, Ontario, Canada. Police say the incident was a hate crime. Reuters

Misty Santerre and her daughter Jasmina visit the scene in London, Ontario, Canada, where a man driving a pick-up jumped the kerb and ran over a Muslim family in what police are calling a hate crime. Reuters

A line of police officers look for evidence at the scene of a car crash in London, Ontario, Canada. Four of five members of a Muslim family were killed when a vehicle struck them in what investigators say was a hate crime. AP Photo