'Islamophobia in Manitoba is real': New report outlines experiences of Muslim community
'As a province and as a community, we have some work to do,' Idris Elbakri says
How friendly is Manitoba to the Muslim community? A report being released Tuesday has some discouraging numbers when it comes to Islamophobia.
"In a nutshell, Islamophobia in Manitoba is real," said Idris Elbakri, a director with the Manitoba Islamic Association and co-author of the report.
"Many community members are encountering it on a daily basis at work and school, out in public, and its harms are real — both physical and emotional."
The report was sparked by the deadly vehicle attack on a Muslim family in London, Ont., last June. Four people were killed, including a 15-year-old girl.
It was the deadliest attack against Canadian Muslims since six people were killed in a Quebec City mosque in 2017.
Elbakri said the local Islamic association wanted to know more about the experiences of Muslims in this province, but there was no data documenting it.
"We just didn't know … what sort of experience people were having with Islamophobia, if at all, so this lack of data motivated us to basically collect our own data," he said.
"This then led to the report that we will be releasing today."
The report, called Friendly Manitoba: Community Experiences with Islamophobia, will be presented in a virtual meeting at 4:30 p.m.
The data was gathered during the summer months and early fall through an online survey due to COVID restrictions.
There were responses from about 190 people, and Elbakri and co-author Eve Sotiriadou also interviewed nine community leaders. The report isn't a representative sample and so only reveals the experiences of those who responded.
Sixty-two per cent of the survey's participants indicated they have been subjected to Islamophobia, with the experiences disproportionately weighted toward women and youth, Elbakri said.
"So, yeah, as a province and as a community, we have some work to do," he said.
He was particularly shaken by the fact 43 per cent of respondents said they experienced Islamophobia in schools.
"[That] struck me as extremely high, as a father of four kids who attend public school. I think that to me is a clear call for action."
More training for teachers
The lead of the mental health initiative for the Manitoba Islamic Association says the report highlights the need for more training for teachers and administrators.
"Take some classes of understanding Islam," urged Natasha Ali, also a psychologist for Muslims at the University of Manitoba.
"If you don't have friends who are Muslim, or family members who are Muslim or neighbours who are Muslim or work colleagues who are Muslim it could be very easy to misunderstand and ... go off a stereotype.
She said those who have experienced Islamophobia can develop mistrust for anyone who is not their family, leading to social anxiety, low self esteem, repressing of emotions and loneliness.
"There's a lot of people out there who are feeling kind of lost and disconnected and I think when people experience things like racism and Islamophobia that further negatively affects people's sense of identity as well as … that feeling of belonging and connectedness," she said.
Ali urges people to reach out to a friend or mentor and get involved in their mosque so that they have someone to talk to.
As a middle-aged man with a fairer complexion, Elbakri has not experienced much Islamophobia, but he said the findings of the report make clear it is "definitely a prevalent theme in the lives of community members, and it's unfortunate."
The report comes less than three weeks after an attack at another Ontario mosque, in what authorities called a "hate-motivated incident."
The man walked into a Mississauga mosque and discharged bear spray. Police said he was also brandishing a hatchet.
Some members tackled and subdued him but not before a number of the 20 attendees suffered minor injuries from the spray.
Muslims have a history that goes back more than a century in Manitoba — and there have been strides made in building understanding and acceptance, Elbakri said.
Last year, following the attack on the family in London, the Manitoba Muslim community held a drive-in vigil in Winnipeg "and it was packed," he said.
"People came from all walks of life to show solidarity."
Manitobans also elected the first Muslim MLA in the province's history on March 22, when Obby Khan won the seat for the Progressive Conservatives in the Fort Whyte byelection.
He then made history again on Monday when he used the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, to take the oath of office.
In 2017, about 500 students and school staff marched in a rally against Islamophobia. The gathering started at the Winnipeg Central Mosque and went to the Manitoba Legislature and U.S. Consulate downtown.
"I do think we are a friendly province, but the reality is this current [of Islamophobia] does exist in our society and we have to deal with it," Elbakri said.
"I hope that this report is a first step in helping us understand this issue better. And I hope that there is subsequent research done on this phenomena and its causes and its extent in our society, and then I hope we actually start to take some action."
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With files from Erin Brohman, Janice Moeller and Marcy Markusa