Muslims Urged To Speak Out Against Racism, and Become More Politically Involved

Yahya Abdul Rahman

Montreal December 16, 2002 (MMN) - On Saturday, Montreal's Muslim community hosted a public panel discussion consisting of human rights activists and political leaders at Concordia University entitled "Citizens Under Siege."

Samer Majzoub, who moderated the event, stated in his opening remarks that "In the aftermath of 9/11, Muslims, Arab citizens and other minorities have been exposed to numerous violations of their human rights and have been subjected to constant campaigns of hatred, stereotyping, discrimination, mistreatment and abuse from within the mainstream media, various levels of authorities, streets, work-place, schools, etc."

"Every Muslim citizen is being looked at as a suspicious "terrorist" until he/she proves the contrary," he said.

"What did we do as civilized Canadians and Quebecers to stop this moral onslaught? Did our fellow citizens at large feel the magnitude of this misery? Is it morally acceptable that substantial numbers of our citizens feel insecure and unsafe in their country? What did our elected politicians do? What kind of role did the mainstream media play in this crisis? Where are our human right groups and what role did the play to stop this collective persecution of a whole population?" Majzoub asked.

Fo Neimi, Executive Director of the Montreal based  Centre Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR), opened the discussion by addressing the need for what he called a "Civil Rights Agenda For Muslims Living In Montreal."

Neimi noted that after 9/11 many things have changed in Canada with regards to foreign policy, national security issues and in particular human rights.

He further stated that what he has heard from the Muslim and Middle Eastern communities in Canada is the sense of the feeling they are not part of Canadian society, and people feel marginalized and excluded and reduced to the status of a "foreigner, a threat, or undesirable"

"These are the patterns of marginalization which happened with different religious and ethnic communities in this country for the past 50 years," he stated.

He urged the audience to take every opportunity under existing Canadian law to protect the rights they have, and also reminded his listeners that no matter what their immigration status in Canada may be, their rights are protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Regarding racist and discriminatory incidents Neimi stated that those affected "should call things by their real names."

"When we see racism, we should call it racism. We should not avoid using the "r" word," he said.

"When we see anti Muslim practices we should call it Islamophobia."

"The moment we call things by their names, I think things will become clear, we know what the targets are and then we can fight it."

He also urged the audience to challenge double talk, exclusionary language or political discourses which usually lead to nothing by way of concrete actions.

In addition, he admonished the audience, which numbered over 100,  to make alliances and build coalitions with other groups "to work together on issues that face all of us."

Neimi also stressed the importance of political empowerment, and the necessity to be included and represented.

"We should be present in all decision making bodies and agencies, starting from the Senate and right down to local city advisory boards and so on," he stated.

"Unless we sit at the deciding table, speak, cast a vote and write the policy, we will always be seen as being on the outside looking in and complaining and being members of special interests groups without the ability do do anything concrete."

He ended his talk by stating that his ideas are not his alone, but are based on close to 50 years of civil rights struggle in North America, and lessons can be learned from them.

Mr. Neimi is the co-founder and, since 1983, Executive Director of the Montreal based CRARR. The group works towards the elimination of all form of racism, and monitors the representation of racial and minority groups in the media, and to this end has produced a pamphlet with step-by-step instructions on how to lodge complaints about racism in the media. Please see: http://www.media-awareness.ca/eng/issues/minrep/getinvolved/crarr.htm 

Other members of the panel included NDP Leader Alexa McDonough, Mohamed Soulami, President of the cultural communities commission of the Provincial Liberal Party, and Shirley Sarna, a human rights educator and Vice Chair of Quebec Human Right Commission.

McDonough, who is finishing off her term as NDP leader, opened her remarks by quoting Barbara Lee, the lone member of the US Congress who stood in opposition to the appropriation of funds for the US to launch an attack on Afghanistan, who said: "In the attempt to defeat terrorism, let us not become the enemy we deplore."

"That remains the message that we are struggling to get across to the world, because of the horrors that have happened in the aftermath of 9/11," stated McDonough.

"Unfortunately," stated McDonough, "truth is the first victim of war, followed closely by the freedom of speech."

She noted that for those people educated in the area of human rights, it was readily apparent that there would be an outbreak of human rights abuses in the aftermath of 9/11, and particularly in the aftermath of the message of hatred expressed by US President George W. Bush when he talked about how "you are either with us or with the terrorists" and allowing for no other options.

She stated that indeed there are better options to choose from than Bush and Bin Laden.

"We have seen a rash of racism, hatred, and bigotry that has become widespread across this country, particularly against Muslims and Arabs, but also other minorities as well," she further stated.

She also said that one of the rewarding things for her in the aftermath of 9/11 was taking the time to learn more about the Islamic faith. She quoted the Quranic verse  "Oh you who believe! Stand out firmly for God, witnesses to fair dealing and let not the hatred of others make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just: that is next to piety, and fear God. For God is well-acquainted with all that you do." (Chapter 5:8)

"That is the same universal message that must be embraced by all human beings on the face of the earth who subscribe to the values of freedom, justice and equality," she stated.

She stressed the need of building a broad- based movement to stand against what is happening and stated that "we must bring people together of all national origins, ethic backgrounds, and religious faiths who share the values of peace freedom and liberty and solidarity."

In her speech, Sarna urged the audience to call the Human-Rights Commission if they experience racism. She also made a passionate appeal for more anti-racism education in Quebec schools starting at the earliest levels.

"Human rights should permeate our schools and have an impact on the ethos of our communities," Sarna said.

"Some people have told me that after Sept. 11, human rights, although important, must take a back seat to security. I disagree. If human rights are worth defending, we must actively promote and exercise them, and deplore religious persecution, racial profiling, and racial discrimination and vigorously promote human rights" she stated.

"In discussions of events of September 11 and their  aftermath, I fear there may be a tendency in certain circles to place human rights on the back burner, and to postpone human rights for a better time when it is more convenient when things settle down," Sarna said.

She concluded her talk by stating: "I hope that if anything September 11th awakens us out of our complacency on many levels and compels us to double our efforts to place human rights promotion at the forefront of our endeavors." 

"I deeply regret that is has taken a horrific event to do so," she said.

Soulami's speech was more of a pitch for the Quebec Liberal party. He stated that if Jean Charest becomes premier, the percentage of minorities in public-sector jobs will again start to rise after falling from fallen to about 2 per cent from 4.3 per cent under the Parti Québécois.

Saturday's event was sponsored by the Canadian Muslim Forum and Alternative Perspective Media.

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Source: Montreal Muslim News Network - http://www.montrealmuslimnews.net