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National Council of Canadian Muslims

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The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) is a non-profit Canadian Muslim civil liberties and human rights advocacy organization.[1] The organization was established in 2000 to focus on combatting Islamophobia, hate and racism through legal action, public advocacy, education, and media representation. NCCM's mission is "to protect Canadian human rights and civil liberties, challenge discrimination and Islamophobia, build mutual understanding, and advocate for the public concerns of Canadian Muslims."[2] NCCM is active across the country in Canada. The organization has offices in Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and Nova Scotia.

NCCM takes on cases of hate and discrimination such as Islamophobic assaults,[3][4][5] vandalism,[6] harrassment,[7] employment discrimination, discrimination in the provision of social services, racial profiling[8] and more. NCCM also takes on major cases to challenge discriminatory laws and policies such as Quebec's Bill 21[9], the No Fly List,[10] the Safe Third Country Act, Bill 62[11] and more. NCCM frequently collaborates with partners such as the Canadian Civil Liberties Association to combat encroachments on civil liberties. NCCM lawyers have appeared in multiple courts including human rights tribunals and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Public advocacy

NCCM engages in lobbying all levels of government to strengthen or enact laws and policies that address Islamophobia in all its forms. After the London Terror Attack in Ontario in 2021 when 4 members of a Muslim family perished in an Islamophobic attack, NCCM submitted 61 recommendations directed at municipal, provincial and federal governments to tackle Islamophobia in their jurisdictions.[12] NCCM has been named as a top lobbying organization in the Hill Times on multiple occassions.[13]

NCCM has been active on several public policy files including systemic Islamophobia in national security agencies, the CRA,[14][15] policing, education and more. NCCM also advocates of Canadian foreign policy, including on Canadian positions on multiple issues related to Palestine[16], Afghanistan[17], the treatment of Uyghurs in China[18] and the treatment of Muslims and other minorities in India[19].

NCCM provides pathways for civic engagement for the broader Muslim community through informational communications on social media as well as action alerts such as letter writing campaigns.[20]

Education

NCCM also provides anti-Islamophobia educational supports to public schools, educators, corporations, unions and others. In addition, NCCM provides advocacy services to students who face Islamophobic discrimination or hate at school.[21][22] NCCM offers a range of anti-Islamophobia trainings catered to a diversity of audiences.

NCCM has been involved in advocating for anti-Islamophobia strategies at multiple school boards, with the first being passed in the Peel District School Board in Ontario[23] as well as a province-wide strategy in British Columbia.[24]

Media representation

Members of the organization are frequent media commentators on issues related to Islamophobia and racism. The organization also hosts press conferences and writes op-eds addressing many different issues such as the rise in Islamophobia in Canada in the aftermath of the October 7th attacks,[25] impact of Islamophobia on Muslim children,[26] systemic Islamophobia in Canadian banking systems, [27] hate crimes,[28][29] and more.

Controversies

In 2014, the NCCM sued former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his spokesman Jason MacDonald for defamation for alleging that the organization had "documented ties" to Hamas, a designated terrorist group in Canada.[30] In February 2015, Jason MacDonald was questioned under oath in the defamation case and Stephen Harper claimed parliamentary privilege to avoid testifying.[31] In March 2017, in a publicly announced settlement of the libel lawsuit, Harper's spokesperson admitted that his statements regarding the NCCM were inaccurate.[32] The Government of Canada also issued a statement "disavowing MacDonald's suggestion that the council had terrorist ties."[32]

After the eruption of the events of October 7, 2023 in Israel and Palestine where Hamas attacked and killed Israelis and took hostages and the Israeli state escalated attacks on Palestinian civilians in retaliation, the NCCM was accused by pro-Israel lobby groups in Canada such as CIJA of failing to condemn Hamas.[33] While the NCCM condemned Hamas and its actions [34], it has also continued to harshly condemn Israel for its ongoing attacks on Gaza as "plausible genocide". [35]

See also

References

  1. ^ "About Us". NCCM. Accessed April 30, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2021. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "NCCM - National Council of Canadian Muslims". NCCM - National Council of Canadian Muslims. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  3. ^ Bernhardt, D (July 18, 2023). "Muslim community suggests Olive Garden attack on Black woman was motivated by hate". CBC.
  4. ^ "Edmonton man gets 16-month jail sentence for hate-motivated attack on Muslim women". CBC. October 21, 2022.
  5. ^ "Paramount Fine Foods v Johnston, 2021 ONSC 5530". CanLii.
  6. ^ "Mississauga mosque's windows smashed in alleged hate crime, police say". CBC. February 1, 2024.
  7. ^ "'We have been harassed': UBC student group, Muslim organization say they are taking legal action over pro-Hamas stickers on campus". British Columbia. 2024-02-09. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  8. ^ Bahdi, Reem (2018-09-04). "Narrating Dignity: Islamophobia, Racial Profiling, and National Security Before the Supreme Court of Canada". Osgoode Hall Law Journal. 55 (2): 557–591. doi:10.60082/2817-5069.3293. ISSN 2817-5069.
  9. ^ "Hak c. Procureure générale du Québec, 2019 QCCA 2145". CanLii. 12-12-2019. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Factum of the intervener" (PDF). SCC.
  11. ^ "National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) c. Attorney General of Quebec, 2017 QCCS 5459". CanLii. 2017-12-01.
  12. ^ "NCCM RECOMMENDATIONS: NATIONAL ACTION SUMMIT ON ISLAMOPHOBIA". NCCM - National Council of Canadian Muslims. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  13. ^ "Calls to combat Islamophobia prominent in record-setting June for federal advocacy". The Hill Times. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  14. ^ "Opinion: If governments want to combat Islamophobia, they will need to take a hard look in the mirror". The Globe and Mail. 2021-07-20. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  15. ^ "Under Layered Suspicion | A Review of CRA Audits of Muslim-led Charities". www.layeredsuspicion.ca. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  16. ^ "CANADA MUST SUPPORT INTERNATIONAL LAW". NCCM.
  17. ^ "Canada's two-tier approach to refugees says the quiet part aloud". iPolitics.
  18. ^ "NCCM POLICY BRIEF: UYGHUR RIGHTS". NCCM.
  19. ^ "BJP LEADERSHIP AND ETHNIC CLEANSING MEASURES IN INDIA". NCCM.
  20. ^ "NCCM - National Council of Canadian Muslims". NCCM - National Council of Canadian Muslims. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  21. ^ "With anti-Muslim occurrences on the rise, schools in Canada urged to address Islamophobia". CBC. December 2, 2023.
  22. ^ Waberi, Osobe (2018-10-11). "This is what Islamophobia looks like in high school". Vice. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  23. ^ "NCCM WELCOMES PDSB'S HISTORIC ADOPTION OF ANTI-ISLAMOPHOBIA STRATEGY". NCCM - National Council of Canadian Muslims. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  24. ^ General, Attorney (2021-07-22). "Joint statement on National Summit on Islamophobia | BC Gov News". news.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 2024-05-01.
  25. ^ "I have never seen it this bad". Toronto Star.
  26. ^ "With hate on the rise, it's a tough time to be a young Muslim in school". National Observer.
  27. ^ "Major banks have been cutting ties with some Muslim organizations. This is why the process should be more transparent". Toronto Star.
  28. ^ "This Ramadan, the wave of Islamophobic incidents has gotten out of hand". Toronto Star.
  29. ^ "Anti-semitism and Islamophobia are two sides of the same coin". Edmonton Journal.
  30. ^ "Muslim group takes next step in court action against PMO spokesman | CTV News". www.ctvnews.ca. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
  31. ^ Am; Feb 18, a Connolly Published on; 2015 1:00pm (2015-02-18). "Harper invokes parliamentary privilege in libel lawsuit". iPolitics. Retrieved 2019-06-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  32. ^ a b "Stephen Harper's ex-spokesman admits he wrongly suggested Muslim group had terrorist ties".
  33. ^ "CIJA criticizes the NCCM for failing to condemn Hamas". twitter.com. 8 October 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  34. ^ "NCCM statement condemning Hamas attacks". twitter.com. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  35. ^ "NCCM calls Canada to take action on Gaza". twitter.com. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
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