The Liberal-appointed Islamophobia representative has released a guide that downplays extreme Islamist jihad and attributes anti-Muslim sentiments to Canada’s “colonialism.”
Spearheaded by Trudeau’s special representative on combating Islamophobia, Amira Elghawaby, the 60-page guide is titled “The Canadian Guide to Understanding and Combating Islamophobia for a More Inclusive Canada.”
The document opens with a critique of Canada’s history, citing the “painful legacy of colonialism, racism, hate, and discrimination.”
It claims that Canada has the highest number of targeted killings of Muslims among G7 nations, referencing a Senate report. The figure originates from the National Council of Canadian Muslims.
The guide attempts to redefine the concept of jihad, portraying it as a metaphorical personal struggle rather than acknowledging its historical use by Islamists to perpetuate violence in places such as Syria, and the Congo, which have seen anti-Christian massacres by Sunni-Islamist terrorists in recent weeks.
The report comes at a time of increased adoption of Islamophobia training in government institutions.
Recently, it was revealed that the Toronto Police Service has implemented a mandatory training course on the “foundations of Islam and how to combat Islamophobia.”
The force’s Muslim liaison officers played a role in advocating for the training.
Those same officers were featured on the Toronto Police Service’s official podcast, where they described the growing interest in Islam following the events of October 7, 2023, as a positive development.
Following public criticism, the Toronto police deleted the podcast episode and issued an apology to the Jewish community via a statement on X.
Elghawaby, appointed to her role in January 2023, released her report publicly on X but restricted comments, limiting public engagement.
On March 8, the Toronto Star published an interview in which she responded to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s claim that her job was “useless,” arguing instead that her role is needed now more than ever.
Elghawaby’s actions as the Islamophobia representative have drawn criticism from provincial governments and Jewish groups. The National Assembly of Quebec has repeatedly called for her resignation, most recently in a strongly worded motion adopted unanimously after she wrote a letter urging Canadian universities to hire more Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian professors.
The National Assembly argued that hiring professors based on religion is discriminatory and “contrary to the secularism of the state.”
This is not the first time Elghawaby has courted controversy. She has previously written an opinion piece describing Quebec as “racist,” linking public support for Quebec’s secularism law, Bill 21, to discrimination.
Bill 21 bans the wearing of religious symbols by public employees performing their duties, such as police officers and teachers.
The Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation has called for Elghawaby’s resignation for downplaying antisemitism, including in her response to the February 2024 anti-Israel protest at the Jewish-founded Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, where she rejected the “clearly antisemitic nature of the protest.”
At the beginning of her tenure as Islamophobia representative, Elghawaby suggested that school books should be rewritten to remove Muslim “stereotypes.”
She previously served as the director of an advocacy group that advised schools on anti-hate educational reform, which published a booklet calling Canada’s historical flag, the Red Ensign, a “hate symbol.”