Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you to all the witnesses for being here and spending time with us today on this very important topic.
Mr. Khan, I will start with you. Thank you for your testimony.
I think it's important that when we study anything, we properly define the terms. I want to talk about the term “Islamophobia”. I have a quote from testimony you gave three years ago at the Standing Committee on the Status of Women. I'm just going to read a paragraph and then ask you to comment on it.
You said:
One thing I would like to mention is that the term “Islamophobia” actually doesn't really help or aid the topic. I know it's not a term that anyone here has created, and it's something that has been accepted by pretty well everybody, but the term “phobia” means to be afraid of something, and then it's to be afraid of Islam and to be afraid of Muslims. That is, in essence, a bit of the problem. Nonetheless, I know it's a topic for another time.
Sir, I'm going to give you the time right now to comment on that. Just for further context, I noticed in your opening remarks that you used the term “fear” a couple of times in association with Islam.