• ‘Since October 2023, Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism has exploded across Canada to levels higher than they were after 9/11,’ says Fareed Khan, founder of Canadians United Against Hate

TRENTON, Canada

Canada has long cultivated the image of a multicultural society as it welcomes hundreds of thousands of residents from other countries annually.

But for many years, this perception has been facing a stress test, especially for the country’s Muslim community, as Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian sentiment surge over Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, where about 2 million people are facing starvation due to Israel’s blockade.

In Toronto, a gesture of goodwill from the city’s mayor quickly turned sour after it was met with a wave of online hate. Olivia Chow posted a short video to Instagram last month welcoming newly arrived Palestinian refugees to the city, captioned in capital letters: “Salam Aleikum! Welcome to Toronto!”

Within days, the clip drew 51,000 views and about 1,000 comments – more than half of them Islamophobic, according to the mayor’s office. Some commenters mocked the refugees’ appearance, claiming they looked well-fed and showed no visible trace of hunger.

“The Mayor’s social media often features people’s stories to help explain and humanize City Hall’s policy decisions,” Chow’s office told Anadolu in an emailed statement. “We secure permission to use the stories, but if there is ever a concern for the well-being of someone featured on our social media, we will remove the content. Concerns about safety and well-being were raised in this instance.”

The Instagram post was later edited, with the original video replaced by a message explaining the decision. “This post has been edited. The original post has a video of the Mayor greeting a family as they arrived at the airport. Due to abusive comments and safety concerns for the family we have removed the video,” it read.

For Fareed Khan, founder of Canadians United Against Hate, the backlash was no surprise. “Since October 2023, Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism has exploded across Canada to levels higher than they were after 9/11,” Khan said in an email interview.

“The reason is that anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian narratives have become normalized over the past 24 years, and certainly over the past decade.”

Toronto family targeted in repeated attacks

One Toronto family knows the consequences all too well. Canadian media recently reported that Marycarmen Lara-Villaneuva, her spouse Khurram Shahzad and their two children have endured months of intimidation and threats at their east-end home.

The incidents began on March 29, the last day of Ramadan, when a man tried to break down their door around 5:30 a.m., shouting Muslim insults and threats. The door held, and he left without getting inside. Lara-Villaneuva believes the attack was triggered by the inflatable mosque and “Ramadan Kareem” lights the family had placed on their lawn.

About two weeks later, a woman approached her and accused her of being a “terrorist” because of a pro-Palestinian display outside the home. The man from the March incident was charged, but police say he breached his release orders on May 10 by allegedly making death threats against Lara-Villaneuva and a neighbor, and again on July 16 when he yelled anti-Muslim slurs at Shahzad.

“We’ve had to adapt to living in fear, but how long are we supposed to live like this?” Lara-Villaneuva told broadcaster CP24. “We’ve taken steps to proactively protect our family, but there’s only so much we can do. It’s exhausting and it’s debilitating … This is our home and our community.”

Shahzad said his work sometimes requires him to travel, leaving him anxious when away. “I’m always very uneasy when I am away from home,” he said. “It’s affecting my family and my home.”

The couple decided to speak publicly to encourage other Muslims to report hate crimes rather than suffer in silence. “It’s not just us,” Lara-Villaneuva said. “This is about the community, other racialized families, other Muslim families.”

‘Just the tip of the iceberg’

Khan called their experience “just the tip of the iceberg in terms of anti-Muslim hate across Canada.” He cited polling data showing “52% of Canadians distrusted Muslims, 43% viewed Islam as a ‘harmful presence’ in Canada, and that 42% felt that the hate Muslims face was essentially their own fault, which is victim blaming.”

“The Gaza Genocide has fueled strong emotions and divisions, leading to increased prejudice and discrimination against Muslims, Palestinians, Arabs, and those supporting them in their calls for justice, and people like the Toronto couple are being targeted in acts of hate as a result.”

That assessment echoes findings from Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s special representative on combatting Islamophobia. The federal position was created in 2021 after a driver killed four members of a Muslim family in London, Ontario, leaving a young boy orphaned.

“Over the past several months, Canadian Muslims have shared their growing concerns about an increase in an anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian, and anti-Arab backlash that have already led to loss of income, threats to current or future employment, harassment, violence, vandalism, and exclusion,” Elghawaby wrote in her 2023-24 report, A Hopeful Path Forward for Canada’s Muslim Communities.

“Social change takes time. It must overcome decades, if not centuries, of outdated tropes, myths, and stereotypes about who Muslims are, and what they believe.”

Canada’s government describes it as “a multicultural, pluralistic nation — a country that welcomes people from around the world to build their lives, raise their families and contribute to its collective success.” But Elghawaby’s report notes that Canada has the highest rate of targeted killings of Muslims among G7 nations.

The country has seen major incidents in recent years, including the 2017 Quebec City mosque shooting that killed six and injured 19, and the London, Ontario attack in 2021. A Canadian Senate report released in November 2023 documented dozens of other incidents: hot coffee poured over Muslims’ heads, eggs thrown, an axe attack at a mosque, and several cases of hijabs being torn off.

“Between October 7, 2023, and March 2024, over 1,000 incidents of Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism were reported,” Elghawaby said. “Quite simply, being Muslim in Canada is not as safe as it should be.”