From Historic First to What’s Next: Amira Elghawaby on Combating Islamophobia in Canada

Description

Three years after her historic appointment as Canada’s first Special Representative on Combating Islamophobia, Amira Elghawaby returns to Unpacking Islamophobia to reflect on her landmark tenure, and what its end means for Canadian Muslims. Elghawaby reflects on her time in office and her institutional work in combating anti-Muslim racism in Canada, a country that, despite its reputation for openness and multiculturalism, has seen devastating Islamophobic violence: from the 2017 Quebec City mosque massacre to the 2021 London, Ontario attack that killed four members of a Muslim family and ultimately led to the creation of Elghawaby’s office. We discuss the significance of Elghawaby’s landmark work on creating Canada’s first-ever government-issued guide to understanding and combating Islamophobia, and how Canada compares to other countries grappling with rising anti-Muslim sentiment. We also look ahead: What does meaningful community engagement with government look like? What advice does she have for policymakers and young professionals working in this space?

Featuring

Amira Elghawaby is an Internationally recognized journalist and human rights advocate who served as Canada’s first ever Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia between 2023 to 2026. During her historic tenure, Ms. Elghawaby provided strategic advice to the Government of Canada on legislation, policies, and programs impacting Canadian Muslim communities. She also worked closely with federal departments to address issues related to online hate, anti-racism, discrimination and community safety. Additionally, Ms. Elghawaby worked to raise public awareness on the challenges Islamophobia poses to Canada’s shared values, championing human rights, freedom of religion and inclusion on national and global platforms, including at the United Nations.

Mobashra Tazamal is the Associate Director of The Bridge Initiative. Her work focuses on the impact of the War on Terror discourse and state-sponsored Islamophobia around the globe. Given her expertise, she serves as a resource for educators and journalists, and her analysis has been cited in global media outlets such as the New York Times, NBC, Salon, Washington Post, and Al Jazeera. In addition to publishing articles and reports for Bridge, her analysis has also been featured in The Independent, Al Jazeera, Middle East Eye, Truthout, The New Arab, and Byline times. She holds a Master’s degree from SOAS, University of London.