Uni of TO - Racial comments/action against Muslims

itsme01 · March 25, 2006, 3:02pm

CAIRO, March 24, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – Muslim students at the University of Toronto at Mississauga (UTM) have been suffering growing racism and verbal assaults, a local Canadian newspaper reported on Friday, March 24.

“It keeps happening over and over again, and it needs to stop,” Shaila Kibria, vice-president of the UTM’s Students’ Administrative Council, told the Canadian Mississauga News Online.

Kibria said a female student was forcefully shoved in the chest and told to “go back” to her country and “bomb it”.

“Since then, there have been a dozen more incidents in which racist comments have been directed towards Muslim students at the school’s Mississauga Rd. campus.”

Similar attacks were also reported at the Toronto campus.

Kibria said he was told by fellow students that they had been insulted by other students asking if their underarms are hairy.

Another female student reported that she was called a terrorist by a group of students last week, Kibria added.

The number of Canadian Muslims has increased dramatically over the last decade, according to a national census.

Canadian Muslims make 1.9% of Canada’s some 32.8 million people, according to the CIA World Factbook.

Islam has become the number one non-Christian faith in Canada.

University Inaction

Muslim student blamed the university administration for the rise of racist attacks against them, saying it failed to even publicly condemn the racist practices.

Fahad Shaikh, the head of UTM’s Muslim Students Association, warned Muslims may face more violent attacks unless the university takes further action to eliminate hate attacks and crimes.

Comparing reaction to attacks against Muslims and the circulation of anti-Semitic pamphlets on the campus last November, Kibria said the university was quick to issue a public statement to denounce the pamphlets, but refrained from doing the same on Muslims.

The UTM’s Students’ Administrative Council and other student groups have called on the university to make a statement denouncing the recent anti-Muslim incidents.

The council has also asked the university to give a directive telling students and staff to show respect to Muslims and refrain from attacking their faith, said Kibria.

Nearly 100 Muslim students staged a rally on Thursday, March 23, to protest attacks against them, the paper said.

The Muslim groups have also called for looking into a series of posters that have appeared on campus showing a picture of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) with a bomb in his turban.

The drawing is among twelve blasphemous others that were first published by Danish daily Jyllands-Posten in September and reprinted by European newspapers on claims of freedom of expression.

The drawings, considered blasphemous under Islam, have triggered massive and sometimes violent demonstrations across the Muslim world.

For TO Guppies: Is this thing common or isolated to Uni. of TO?

cat-woman · March 25, 2006, 4:16pm

Re: Uni of TO - Racial comments/action against Muslims

I was there last weekend when this guy tried to runover a group of Muslim brothers. My friends and I actually arrived at the scene 5 minutes after it happened.

LuxuryItem · March 25, 2006, 5:01pm

Re: Uni of TO - Racial comments/action against Muslims

mighty morphin' power rangers arrived 5 minutes late, crap!

cat-woman · March 25, 2006, 5:25pm

Re: Uni of TO - Racial comments/action against Muslims

LI, always ready to attack me. Please LI let us reconcile our differences one of these days

Well we were just coming back from lunch and when we arrived, the cops were there interviewing the witnesses. Apparantly the driver was yelling racial slurs, and he missed them once, came back and this time managed to hit one of the guys.

diya17 · March 25, 2006, 5:39pm

Re: Uni of TO - Racial comments/action against Muslims

Toronto is full of shyyyzzaa...every other day there is sum kind of crap goin on there.... i dont even understand that knowing all this stuff about toronto why do poeple live there....and they actually put up with all the racial comments....
[QUOTE]
Kibria said a female student was forcefully shoved in the chest and told to "go back" to her country and "bomb it".
[/QUOTE]
and she didnt say ANYTHING to themm...com'on its a free country...and this is a native land...so preety much 90% of people are immigrants..she should've said the same thing to themm...if you dont tell 'me sumthing they are not gonna stop saying all this...these poeple just need to learn how to speak up for themselves...

tmx305 · March 25, 2006, 5:50pm

Re: Uni of TO - Racial comments/action against Muslims

Blame America?

MALIK_786 · March 25, 2006, 7:39pm

Re: Uni of TO - Racial comments/action against Muslims

HAHAHAHAHA White people harassing muslims in MSauga.
Good change of that. Pakistanis are like every second person there.

C it in Surrey where White folk have to keep a low profile because of desis

Faruk_Khan · March 25, 2006, 7:42pm

Re: Uni of TO - Racial comments/action against Muslims

There's nothing anyone can do to stop Muslimphobia/Islamphobia, even if you do manage to shut up a few people at a university there's plenty of other places and mediums where you will be faced with such racism in life, you can't shut everyone up.

I think the only thing we can do is grow tougher skins or reconsider our parents decisions to make these countries our permanent homes.

In America or Canada racism might be a recent thing but in the UK it's been around well before 9/11, we had to face it at primary school and we still have to put up with it, we don't really expect any better from the whites any more, from day one we've been alienated and felt unwelcomed into mainstream society so we've never had any desire to be accepted, we've kind of settled for it and couldn't care less what people outside our comfy lil communities think of us, many of us see living here as a temporary arrangment till we've enough money to live an easy life "back home".

Sadiyah · March 25, 2006, 7:44pm

Re: Uni of TO - Racial comments/action against Muslims

Disgusting!

itsme01, so far it's more or less happening at UofT and not so much outside.

Muslim students should continue speaking to the university till it gets resolved. If the university can be quick in responding to attacks on other faiths, then they should do the same for Islam.

Not to forget a particular faith decided to hold a so-called week of awareness about Islam and there was confrontation over it as well.

Gamma_Dilation · March 25, 2006, 7:53pm

Re: Uni of TO - Racial comments/action against Muslims

HAHAHAHAHAHAHahahha lol

Sadiyah · March 25, 2006, 8:12pm

Re: Uni of TO - Racial comments/action against Muslims

I came across the following on CAIR-CAN’s website:

The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) today welcomes the statement by University of Toronto President David Naylor against hate at the university. CAIR-CAN says the statement is an important first step in combating the spread of hate after a series of alarming incidents on the school’s campus.

“The University will not tolerate actions that appear to rise to the level of a hate crime, or for that matter, any criminal act,” says the statement by President Naylor. “Any action undertaken for the sole purpose of causing distress to other members of the University of Toronto undermines the basic purpose of this learning community. Our purpose is to advance knowledge through teaching and research in an environment of inclusiveness and respect. Intolerance is a destructive distraction from that goal. It thus has no moral place at this University, even when expressed through means that are protected by the principle of free expression.”

The statement was released after a series of racist and Islamophobic incidents at the university. The latest attack saw a hit-and-run against an African-Canadian Muslim student perpetrated by a man who had been yelling racial slurs. Prior incidents saw a Muslim student being pushed and called a terrorist, while other students say eggs were thrown at them. Students also complained to CAIR-CAN that Islamophobic flyers were being distributed on campus. For more information on the incidents, please see: http://www.caircan.ca/itn_more.php?id=2393_0_2_0_C

In a statement released today, CAIR-CAN said:

“CAIR-CAN welcomes the statement by University of Toronto President David Naylor against the recent hate attacks on the university campus. President Naylor’s statement was an important first step in challenging the spread of hate and indicating that it will not be tolerated at the University of Toronto. We hope that the university will continue to work closely with its students to combat hate and ensure their safety.”

Ref: http://www.caircan.ca/itn_more.php?id=2400_0_2_0_M

More needs to be done than mere lip service. We’ll have to wait and see if UofT actually takes any steps to curb such hate crime against Islam and Muslims.

paki_pryde · March 25, 2006, 8:34pm

Re: Uni of TO - Racial comments/action against Muslims

I live in Toronto and it just started happening more often after those caricatures of Prophet Muhammad [pbuh] I've been following this and it's so sad because i expect uni students to be more mature... and like Faruk Khan said "you can't shut everyone up"
we just need to be more tolerant..
Muslims have made through worst
so this is basically nothing
be more tolerant and patient and we will make it through

gravity_killz · March 25, 2006, 11:47pm

Re: Uni of TO - Racial comments/action against Muslims

i dont know about the univ. atmosphere in canada but i stayed for a month in ottawa and i was amazed to see so many hijabeez mashallah and that indicates the muslim strength in the area ... i wonder why is this happening especially when major part of papulation are immigrants.

Sabeila · March 25, 2006, 11:52pm

Re: Uni of TO - Racial comments/action against Muslims

im so happy i live in Montreal, Allah ka shukar hai these things don't happen here as much as it does in Toronto

LP · March 26, 2006, 12:01am

Re: Uni of TO - Racial comments/action against Muslims

i din no things like this happenned.................never seen/heard anything even similar to this.....

paki_pryde · March 26, 2006, 12:19am

Re: Uni of TO - Racial comments/action against Muslims

ehhh guyzz it doesn’t happen in any other university of Toronto
trust me, my sister goes to a uni too
it never happened in any other university before

here’s what actually happened:
after the caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and the protests
some Jewish students made a group where they started bashing Islam or “radical Islam” to be more specific

here’s the article
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/…57&p=2

and thn others must have heard about it and (since ppl dont know much about Islam) they must have thought that since this certain person wears a hijaab.. she has to be an extremist.. so they do all that crap!

there r SO many desis in that uni
i wonder why nobody is saying anything…
a lot of desis either go to York or U of T

but yea, i wonder why everyone is just styll quiet
i blame the teachers n them too
u kno why?
after reading this article about jews and muslim kidz making their own groups n all dat… dat was pretty alarming
and anyone with a common sense can tell that this ish is gunna happen soon

paki_pryde · March 26, 2006, 12:22am

Re: Uni of TO - Racial comments/action against Muslims

k i just realized that the link i had posted isn't working
here's the article:

'Radical Islam week' sparks U of T furor

Campus police at the University of Toronto will be on alert today as a Jewish student group kicks off Know Radical Islam Week, a series of lectures aimed at exposing everything from the alleged enslavement of camel jockeys in the United Arab Emirates to genital mutilation of women in Egypt.

"Radical Islam is a geo-political ideology of oppression affecting the entire world," says the program for the lectures, "an abuse of the religion of Islam in order to harness the power of religious devotion to oppress human and civil rights."

Radical Islam is the faith of Hamas, al-Qaeda, Islamic Jihad and the President of Iran, the program adds.

Jonathan Jaffit, 21, a U of T student with a double major in human biology and Jewish studies, is among organizers of the week. He is director of campus affairs for Betar-Tagar, a worldwide group which aims to "present the public with accurate facts about Israel and the Middle East."

"Radical Islam is a distortion of the Koran," Mr. Jaffit said. "We want people to understand that it exists. People don't know that 70% of women in Egypt undergo female genital mutilation."

The 2,000-member Muslim Student Association at the U of T, which calls itself the school's largest club, is urging members to boycott the event.

"We should be working to de- escalate tension on campus," said Safiyyah Ally, 23, a PhD student in political science and spokeswoman for the Muslim group. "I'm concerned that Islam might be demonized and vilified unfairly."

David Farrar, U of T's vice-provost of students, sent out a memo to clubs last week urging them to respect one another's freedom of speech.

"The ability to question, examine and comment on issues of the day, even when such commentary may be repugnant to some, is central to the mission of the university," Mr. Farrar wrote. He added, "without being illegal or otherwise prohibited, some speech may be perceived as hurtful because of the pain that it surfaces."

"Know Radical Islam Week" appears to be Jewish students' response to "Israeli Apartheid Week," organized by the U of T Arab Students Collective.

Mr. Jaffit attacked the Arab event, saying, "They'll be discussing how to destroy the Jewish state. Last year they put up maps of Israel and said it should be wiped off the map."

But Ms. Ally said both groups should look to ease tensions, not raise them. "I don't see the two groups promoting peace on campus and promoting dialogue on campus," she said.

Simon Deng, whom the program defines as a "former Sudanese slave," will give the first lecture of Know Radical Islam Week at noon today in the school's Sidney Smith Hall, in the heart of the downtown campus.

Among other guests are Khalet Abu Toameh, Palestinian affairs columnist for the Jerusalem Post and a "former PLO journalist," who speaks on Wednesday. On Thursday David B. Harris, former chief of strategic planning for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, is set to speak on "Terrorism at Our Doorstep."

Among other speakers is Barbara Cook, a founder of a group called Palestinian Media Watch, which analyzes Palestinian Authority culture and society by looking at its summer camps, poetry, schoolbooks and crossword puzzles.

Jeremy Dias will speak on "Being Gay in the Middle East."

Co-sponsors of the event are Betar-Tagar and the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies.

Mr. Jaffit said his group has held discussions with campus police and has assurances that the school's security service will protect the speakers from any potential protests.

"I'm sure it will stir up controversy," he said. "The university is not a place where we could shy away from controversy."

The Arab Student Collective and Canadian Islamic Congress did not return calls.

itsme01 · March 26, 2006, 1:01pm

Re: Uni of TO - Racial comments/action against Muslims

If i am correct, isnt McGill Uni. the one that has refused Muslims to have a prayer room of their own?

Before i came accross this article, i thought Hate-Crime on campus occured only in Montreal Unis...

yes...so far Ottawa is not plagued with such people.
Hate crime is not new to Mont. or To. both cities have history of racial discrimination against blacks, jews, and other minorities (including Muslims). But whats new is that such acts are taking place on Campus, and nothing has be done by Uni. Staff or local authorities.

ps: Gravitykillz: where did u see all those hijabeez :D

diya17 · March 26, 2006, 4:22pm

Re: Uni of TO - Racial comments/action against Muslims

^ yeah.... itsme was one of the hijabeez:p

expatobserver · March 29, 2006, 6:56pm

Re: Uni of TO - Racial comments/action against Muslims

Right on.:k: