MONTREAL: Following multiple recent attacks on Muslims in the nation, Canada on Thursday named its first anti-Islamophobia advisor. In light of these incidents, this action was deemed necessary.
According to a statement from the prime minister’s office, journalist and activist Amira Elghawaby will take up the position to “serve as a champion, advisor, expert and representative to support and enhance the federal government’s efforts in the fight against Islamophobia, systemic racism, racial discrimination, and religious intolerance.”
Elghawaby, a proponent of human rights who spent more than ten years at the public broadcaster CBC, is currently the director of communications for the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. Furthermore, she is also a columnist for the Toronto Star newspaper.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hailed Elghawaby’s appointment as “a significant milestone in our battle against Islamophobia and intolerance in all its forms.”
Diversity is undoubtedly one of Canada’s greatest assets. However, despite this, many Muslims are all too familiar with Islamophobia, as the official continued to explain.
The Muslim community in Canada has been the subject of a string of horrific attacks over the past few years.
In London, Ontario, a man ran over four members of a Muslim family with his truck in June 2021, resulting in their deaths.
Four years ago, a group of attackers targeted a mosque in Quebec City, causing the deaths of six Muslims and injuries to five others.
Elghawaby recounted the names of those slain in the recent attacks in a series of tweets he sent out on Thursday, concluding, “We must never forget.”
A national meeting against Islamophobia held by the federal government in June 2021 in reaction to the attacks had proposed the creation of the new position.