Conditions that have spurred Islamophobia in Canada have existed for years, says Jasmin Zine
Shiraaz Hanif, a constable for the Metro Vancouver Transit Police, says that there’s a significant difference between how he’s treated in and out of uniform.
“I have a beard, [I’m an] identifiable Muslim, and so when I’m not in uniform, when I’m not working, yeah, I get treated differently,” he told Cross Country Checkup.
Though he hasn’t been the victim of anti-Muslim violence, he says microaggressions — from being treated differently in stores to people showing fear when he boards an elevator — are a common occurrence.
He believes the reason he’s treated differently while in uniform is, in part, out of respect, but also as it “fills in the blanks” about his background — that he’s a Canadian authority.
In the wake of a violent attack that killed four members of a Muslim family in London, Ont., last Sunday night, conversations about the roots of Islamophobia have increased among Canadians.
Police have said the hit-and-run was premeditated and motivated by hate because the family are Muslim. Canada’s Public Safety Minister Bill Blair confirmed that the case is being investigated as an act of terror on Thursday.
The roots of Islamophobia can be linked to the “consistent pairing” of Muslims with terrorism and violence, according to social psychologist Stephen Wright.
These misconceptions, the Simon Fraser University professor says, have permeated Canadians’ shared beliefs — and that can have dire consequences.
“When we set up a group of people to have an underlying view of them as threatening, this then, of course, provides much more justification for violence against them,” he told Cross Country Checkup.
Wright attributes it to something called implicit bias, the subconscious acceptance of a viewpoint or perspective that people aren’t aware of.
Anti-Muslim rhetoric is ‘mainstream’: expert
Jasmin Zine, a sociologist who has studied Islamophobia in Canada for more than a decade, says that the causes that may have led to this tragedy are nothing new.
“What is significant about Islamophobia and distinctive about it as a form of oppression is the fact that there is this industry behind it,” the Wilfred Laurier University professor said, pointing to prominent media figures and white nationalist groups, among others, who perpetuate anti-Muslim rhetoric.
“However, it isn’t just through those mechanisms that Islamophobia operates. It’s not just fraud and conspiracy theories. It is very much part of the mainstream.”
The conditions that have spurred anti-Muslim hate and rhetoric in Canada have existed for years, according to Zine, who cited key political decisions and security laws, like Canada’s Anti-Terrorism Act, that came into effect after the attacks of 9/11.
Quebec’s Bill 21, which bans people from wearing religious symbols — like the hijab and niqab — at work, negatively targets Muslim women, Zine says.
“What it’s doing is regulating and disciplining Muslim women’s bodies and exiling them from the public sphere,” she said.
“That sends a message that these identities and these religious expressions of Muslimness do not belong in Canada…. That they are a threat to the Canadian way of life, to old stock Canadians.”
Zine says these ideas do not only exist among fringe groups, but are represented in government policy and mainstream political rhetoric.
As politicians now speak out against Islamophobia following last Sunday’s attack, Hanif says it’s hypocritical.
“How can you go tell a kid that Islamophobia is wrong when you have governments that are participating in such events?” he said.
Changing the narrative
Hanif believes that the root of all hate, including homophobia, racism and anti-Indigenous hate, is borne from ignorance.
“They pick up the wrong information, misinformation, or they don’t know and they start hating,” he said.
Overcoming these negative beliefs requires people to share experiences, knowledge and opportunities between groups, Wright says.
“We look at the outpouring of grief that happened in London, and I think we have to remember that … is part of the true Canadian experience — that there were people from all walks of life who grieved and who were sad and who were harmed by that act,” he said.
Wright also suggests focusing attention on positive narratives about marginalized groups, and understanding that differences exist and should be embraced.
“I think the essence of inclusion is the recognition that groups are different and we need them all,” said Wright.
“Not that we’re all just human beings [or] that we all belong to different groups, but that we need them all and that group memberships are important, valuable things that we celebrate rather than fear.”
Written by Jason Vermes with files from Steve Howard and Mikee Mutuc.
Source: CBC Radio
