In the winter 2019 I had a woman committ a hate crime against me because I’m a black hijab wearing Muslim young woman spouting hate speech and islamophobic language and nearly physically assault me by approaching me aggressively.
Read MoreI worked at a library in downtown Guelph. Part of the job was retrieving comic books from the Dragon Comics store in the Quebec Street Mall.
I am visibly Muslim as I wear the hijab. I was carrying a box filled with comics back to the library and it was getting dark. There was a bunch of men and women standing near a church in that street and they began trying to call me over and when I refused nicely they began calling me a “towel-head” and a “terrorist”.
Read MoreThe day after Donald Trump got elected, a white middle-aged man in a blue pickup truck that was driving behind me switched lanes, pulled up beside me, motioned for me to roll down my window, and when I did yelled 'go home, bitch!'. We were stopped at a light at that point. When the light turned green, he sped forward, cut me off in my lane, and drove off. I am a South Asian hijabi woman.
Read MoreI have faced Islamophobia my whole entire life but today I'll be sharing my first encounter when I was only 5years old. I remember this so vividly and it still hurts me. I was a kindergarten student in this predominantly white school in Quebec. I always use to get looks from students, teachers and staff but it was nothing too serious.
Read MoreI’d like to say I was born Muslim, but babies don’t have religion. All they know is that they are at the centre of the universe at all times. I suppose I became a Muslim the day my mom told 3-year-old-me that someday “we are all going to Allah’s house” and to this day, I still believe it. I wear a hijab, I order coke at pubs when I’m out with non-Muslim friends or colleagues…
Read MoreYou can do it, InshAllah!” I repeated this affirmation whenever I wanted to achieve a goal. If I worked hard and was optimistic, everything would work out. I always tried so hard to fit in because I never felt like I belonged. Being bullied, harassed, and ridiculed for being Muslim was difficult enough, but I thought I just needed to be patient and keep going.
Read MoreBefore 911
Growing up in Canada, any lived experience of hate, violence, racism and Islamophobia is commonplace. I faced all this internally within the Muslim community and externally in many forms. Name-calling, bullying, exploitation harassment were common experiences in my life. I was isolated and bullied with name-calling, “You Ugly Ref! fresh off the boat! Did you arrive in Canada on a Camel? Where is your Camel? Go back to your desert or to wherever you came from, we hate you, get out of here.” I had many incidents of street violence and harassment, cyberbullying and harassment that I could not speak of at all. I had people spit on me. I was threatened and told that they knew where I lived if I said anything. I knew deep down in my heart and spirit the truth, this is my home, and I belong here, and they don’t know the truth.
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The research I did on Black Muslims in Canada showed that our communities experience both Islamophobia from people who aren't Muslim, and anti-Blackness from people who are Muslim but aren't Black. The experience of anti-Black Islamophobia is dehumanizing, and it ignores the fact that enslaved Black people were most likely the first Muslims to arrive in Canada 400 years ago.
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A racism-free world looks like opportunity and kindness. It's a world where everyone has a fair chance to reach their full potential, and where everyone cares for the well-being of everyone else - including those different from them.
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My name is Nawal Salim and I am an actress that wears a hijab. In July of 2019, I took a class at one of the most notable acting schools in Toronto. On the first day, the instructor wanted to take a look at everyone's headshots and critique them. He took a look at mine and said, "I wouldn't wear a black hijab."
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Hi my name is Mustafa Azraq. I am 25 years old and I'm a Canadian of Palestinian descent. I moved to Poland in 2016 for dental school because of the cheap tuition and the lack of competition. For most of my life I never experienced any discrimination. I think it’s because of my physical appearance. Most people don't acknowledge me as Arab when they see me.
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It was only 15-20 yrs ago when my mom and I couldn't even walk out in the streets of Toronto peacefully in our burkas. Someone would have to call us terrorists, tell us to go back to our country or ask us why we're dressed like witches when it's not Halloween. We got cursed at, people would honk, flip us off or spit on the sidewalk as we passed.
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