The appointment of former National Council of Canadian Muslims activist Amira Elghawaby by the Trudeau government as adviser and expert on Canada’s fight against Islamophobia has so far underscored her fierce opposition to Bill 21 and his deep contempt for Quebecers.
But this important appointment does not fall out of the blue, and we can be sure it comes from the report “Taking action against systemic racism and religious discrimination, including Islamophobia”, presented by the Standing Committee in the House of Commons in February 2018 on Canadian legacy, for which he was mandated in March 2017 when Motion M-103 condemning Islamophobia was approved.
This report contains a total of 30 recommendations for implementing a national action plan to combat systemic racism and religious discrimination, including Islamophobia, at the federal level. It is to date the largest and most ambitious project ever presented to a government, a multi-ramified project that uses religion to enforce multiculturalism.
intentions
Five years after its filing, one might think that the assumption of office of Amira Elghawaby marks the beginning of its implementation, that the funds, the clubs and the people chosen for the concretization of this national plan are already planned and committed to act only for the green light of the Special Counsel and her boss, Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez.
Aside from her hateful tweets, we would be very interested in questioning Ms. Elghawaby about her intentions regarding the development of strategies, the planned programs and their specific goals, the nature and lines of force of their possible legislative proposals, the people and the organizations it intends , for the implementation of this project, to surround itself with the social circles destined for the application of the planned measures and the way it wants to intervene in each of them to fight against Islamophobia, without, of course, increasing the budget forgotten its disposition, knowing that it will be obtained from public funds.
The report
The first recommendation proposes extending racism to religious discrimination so that religions can benefit from proposed anti-racism programs and policies.
The second proposal from the National Council of Canadian Muslims, championed by Amira Elghabawy, would be to provide direction for the implementation of this plan within the Department of Canadian Heritage. In short, to put religions at the heart of central government. And since this is about Islamophobia, I’ll let you guess what religion…
Regarding government policy, it is proposed to design an anti-racism evaluation framework to anticipate and remove unconscious bias in proposed policies, programs and decisions. In the present case, this means that under the guise of combating Islamophobia, it is proposed to refine federal policy in order to influence it in the direction of opening up to Islam.
Implement an ambitious educational program with specific goals. We therefore recommend a number of measures, such as For example, developing an awareness campaign and promoting media literacy so that journalists can give us a more positive image of Muslims and Islam.
Develop educational materials for young people on various religious and cultural practices in cooperation with the provinces. In short, an ECR course to the power of a thousand, in every school, coast to coast.
Institute for cultural competence training for a range of professions including social workers, teachers, legislators, police officers, civil servants, lawyers, judges and health professionals.
Providing scholarships to academics to support the creation of research projects on Islamophobia, racism and religious discrimination.
A significant advance of political Islam in Canada
Not a guide to Christianophobia, not a guide to Black or Aboriginal people, but a guide to fighting Islamophobia. Strange, isn’t it? As if Islam had won exclusivity in terms of discrimination.
This appointment is an incredible step forward for political Islam in the most sensitive areas of Canadian society. One might think that Councilor Elghawaby, after campaigning for Canada’s most powerful politico-religious lobby, the National Council of Canadian Muslims (CNMC), which systematically fights in court any attempt to legislate against secularism, would embrace Councilor Elghawaby’s values This radically anti-secular organization has not denied that its loyalty to that organization remains intact and that perhaps its new mandate should be seen as an extension of that activism.
Suffice it to say that the CNMC just fell into the candy bowl with this appointment. Wrapped candy, of course.
evangelicals
You remember how much evangelicals were made of when the Harper administration was in office in Ottawa. The journalists loudly and clearly denounced, and with good reason, lobbying by evangelical groups that invaded Parliament and activists who had privileged access to certain MPs to advance their agenda to sway draft legislation toward their values. Do you remember that? Why should it be any different for Muslims today?
Tell me what is religion doing at the heart of the state? What is Islam doing at the heart of the state? Whether Christianity or Islam, no religion should be found in the political arena. This is in contrast to secularism, which requires a clear separation between religion and politics.
Justin Trudeau understood the importance of religious diversity in promoting multiculturalism. He understood the importance of wooing religious minorities in his desire to realize a post-national state. And if the father has given us a charter and a law on multiculturalism, the son wants to make his mark by going further in its application, even if that means taking all the risks, including opening an incredible boulevard with the worst religious fundamentalisms .
Photo courtesy of Lorraine Carpentier
Louise Mailoux, philosopher